AP Defensive Rookies of The Year
| Season | Player | Team | Position | College | Pick # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Barney ! Lem Barney | Detroit Lions | Cornerback | Jackson State | 34 |
| 1968 | Humphrey ! Claude Humphrey | Atlanta Falcons | Defensive end | Tennessee State | 3 |
| 1969 | Greene ! Joe Greene | Pittsburgh Steelers | Defensive tackle | North Texas State | 4 |
| 1970 | Taylor ! Bruce Taylor | San Francisco 49ers | Cornerback | Boston University | 17 |
| 1971 | Robertson !Isiah Robertson | Los Angeles Rams | Linebacker | Southern | 10 |
| 1972 | Buchanon ! Willie Buchanon | Green Bay Packers | Cornerback | San Diego State | 7 |
| 1973 | Chambers ! Wally Chambers | Chicago Bears | Defensive tackle | Eastern Kentucky | 8 |
| 1974 | Lambert ! Jack Lambert | Pittsburgh Steelers | Linebacker | Kent State | 46 |
| 1975 | Brazile ! Robert Brazile | Houston Oilers | Linebacker | Jackson State | 6 |
| 1976 | Haynes ! Mike Haynes | New England Patriots | Cornerback | Arizona State | 5 |
| 1977 | Duhe ! A.J. Duhe | Miami Dolphins | Defensive end | LSU | 13 |
| 1978 | Baker ! Al Baker | Detroit Lions | Defensive end | Colorado State | 40 |
| 1979 | Haslett ! Jim Haslett | Buffalo Bills | Linebacker | IUP | 51 |
| 1980 | Curry ! Buddy Curry | Atlanta Falcons | Linebacker | UNC | 36 |
| 1980 | Richardson ! Al Richardson | Atlanta Falcons | Linebacker | Georgia Tech | 201 |
| 1981 | Taylor ! Lawrence Taylor | New York Giants | Linebacker | UNC | 2 |
| 1982 | Banks ! Chip Banks | Cleveland Browns | Linebacker | USC | 3 |
| 1983 | Maxwell ! Vernon Leroy Maxwell | Baltimore Colts | Linebacker | Arizona State | 29 |
| 1984 | Maas ! Bill Maas | Kansas City Chiefs | Defensive tackle | Pittsburgh | 5 |
| 1985 | Bickett ! Duane Bickett | Indianapolis Colts | Linebacker | USC | 5 |
| 1986 | O'Neal ! Leslie O'Neal | San Diego Chargers | Defensive end | Oklahoma State | 8 |
| 1987 | Conlan ! Shane Conlan | Buffalo Bills | Linebacker | Penn State | 8 |
| 1988 | McMillan ! Erik McMillan | New York Jets | Safety | Missouri | 63 |
| 1989 | Thomas ! Derrick Thomas | Kansas City Chiefs | Linebacker | Alabama | 4 |
| 1990 | Carrier ! Mark Carrier | Chicago Bears | Safety | USC | 6 |
| 1991 | Croell ! Mike Croel | Denver Broncos | Linebacker | Nebraska | 4 |
| 1992 | Carter ! Dale Carter | Kansas City Chiefs | Cornerback | Tennessee | 20 |
| 1993 | Stubblefield ! Dana Stubblefield | San Francisco 49ers | Defensive tackle | Kansas | 26 |
| 1994 | Bowens ! Tim Bowens | Miami Dolphins | Defensive tackle | Ole Miss | 20 |
| 1995 | Douglas ! Hugh Douglas | New York Jets | Defensive end | Central State | 16 |
| 1996 | Rice ! Simeon Rice | Arizona Cardinals | Defensive end | Illinois | 3 |
| 1997 | Boulware ! Peter Boulware | Baltimore Ravens | Linebacker | Florida State | 4 |
| 1998 | Woodson ! Charles Woodson | Oakland Raiders | Cornerback | Michigan | 4 |
| 1999 | Kearse ! Jevon Kearse | Tennessee Titans | Defensive end | Florida | 16 |
| 2000 | Urlacher ! Brian Urlacher | Chicago Bears | Linebacker | New Mexico | 9 |
| 2001 | Bell ! Kendrell Bell | Pittsburgh Steelers | Linebacker | Georgia | 39 |
| 2002 | Peppers ! Julius Peppers | Carolina Panthers | Defensive end | UNC | 2 |
| 2003 | Suggs ! Terrell Suggs | Baltimore Ravens | Linebacker | Arizona State | 10 |
| 2004 | Vilma ! Jonathan Vilma | New York Jets | Linebacker | Miami | 12 |
| 2005 | Merriman ! Shawne Merriman | San Diego Chargers | Linebacker | Maryland | 12 |
| 2006 | Ryans ! DeMeco Ryans | Houston Texans | Linebacker | Alabama | 33 |
| 2007 | Willis !Patrick Willis | San Francisco 49ers | Linebacker | Ole Miss | 11 |
| 2008 | Mayo ! Jerod Mayo | New England Patriots | Linebacker | Tennessee | 10 |
| 2009 | Cushing ! Brian Cushing | Houston Texans | Linebacker | USC | 15 |
| 2010 | Suh ! Ndamukong Suh | Detroit Lions | Defensive tackle | Nebraska | 2 |
| 2011 | Miller ! Von Miller | Denver Broncos | Linebacker | Texas A&M | 2 |
Read more about this topic: National Football League Rookie Of The Year Award
Famous quotes containing the words defensive and/or year:
“Hats divide generally into three classes: offensive hats, defensive hats, and shrapnel.”
—Katharine Whitehorn (b. 1926)
“And year by year the landscape grow
Familiar to the stranger’s child;”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)