Minkah Fitzpatrick was not named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the year, this year’s award going to San Francisco DE Nick Bosa. But the full vote tally shows a tiny bit of recognition. According to Rob Maaddi, Fitzpatrick received a lone third place vote for DPOY.
Here’s the full voting tally.
To be clear, it’s a third place vote for Fitzpatrick, not a first-place one. So this is a minor footnote compared to everything else. But someone thought highly enough of Fitzpatrick’s strong 2022 season. He ended the year with a career-high six interceptions, tying for the lead league. He got the year started on a high note with a pick-six on the second play of the season, picking off Cincinnati Bengals’ QB Joe Burrow in Week One. Fitzpatrick finished the year with 96 tackles.
Fitzpatrick was named to his third Pro Bowl and third All-Pro team this season. Last summer, he became the league’s highest-paid safety with a deal that’ll keep him in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future.
Bosa ran away with this year’s DPOY award, receiving 46 of the 50 first-place votes. Dallas Cowboys’ LB Micah Parson came in second place though he didn’t receive a single first-place vote. Philadelphia Eagles’ DE Hasson Reddick was the only other player to receive multiple first place votes. Other players to receive votes include DTs Chris Jones and Quinnen Williams, DEs Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, and Matthew Judon, and CB Sauce Gardner.
Last year’s winner was Pittsburgh Steelers’ outside linebacker T.J. Watt. But a pec injury caused him to miss nearly half the season and he finished the year with just 5.5 sacks. He’ll look to get back into the DPOY race next season.
