There hasn’t been a safety win NFL Defensive Player of the Year since Pittsburgh Steelers superstar Troy Polamalu pulled off the feat in 2010, and since then the award has been won almost exclusively by front seven players with the lone exception being New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore in 2019.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a player who might be able to bring the award back to the secondary in NFL All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr., with Pro Football Network’s Lorenzo Reyna calling Winfield the most likely player on the Buccaneers’ roster to win a postseason award.
“While Baker Mayfield could spark MVP or OPOY talk, Antoine Winfield Jr. is emerging as a threat to end the league’s current streak of edge rushers winning the top defensive honor,” Reyna wrote. “Winfield is fresh off a league-high six-interception season while proving his worth on blitzes by snatching three sacks and six tackles behind the line. He could be the first safety since Troy Polamalu in 2010 to win DPOY.”
Winfield made history in the offseason when he signed a 4-year, $81.4 million contract extension with $45 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history.
Three Buccaneers Have Won NFL Defensive POY
There have been three Tampa Bay Buccaneers who have won NFL Defensive Player of the Year in the past, and all three are Pro Football Hall of Famers.
Defensive end Lee Roy Selmon was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1976 NFL draft and won Defensive POY in 1979 when he had 11.0 sacks and led the Buccaneers to the playoffs for the first time.
Defensive tackle Warren Sapp won Defensive POY in 1999 in a sign of sheer force with 41 tackles, 12.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.
Linebacker Derrick Brooks won Defensive POY in 2002 on the way to leading the Buccaneers to the first Super Bowl win in franchise history, racking up 118 tackles, 7 TFL and 5 interceptions for 218 return yards. Brooks’ most amazing stat that season? He scored 4 defensive touchdowns, returning 3 interceptions for touchdowns and returning 1 fumble for a touchdown.
Era of Edge Rushers For NFL Defensive POY
Since Polamalu won Defensive POY in 2010, the award has been dominated by edge rushers, including the last three winners with Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (2023), San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (2022) and Pittsburgh outside linebacker T.J. Watt (2021).
Watt’s older brother, former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, won the award three times in 2012, 2014 and 2015. Edge rushers also win in 2011, with Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs, and in 2016 with Oakland Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack.
Should Winfield have another season like he had in 2023 and the Buccaneers win a fourth consecutive NFC South Division title, it would be hard not to see him as a serious contender for the award. Winfield had a career year before hitting his big payday as he started all 17 games with 122 tackles, 12 pass deflections, 3 interceptions, 6.0 sacks, 4 fumble recovers and an NFL-leading 6 forced fumbles. For that, Winfield finished sixth in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting.
When Polamalu won Defensive POY in 2010 he finished the season with 63 tackles, 11 pass deflections, 1.0 sack and 7 interceptions with 101 return yards and 1 touchdown in 14 games.
