Abdul Carter, Jalon Walker, Players Most Likely to Win 2025 Defensive ROY Award

The NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award will have plenty of suitors from the 2025 draft. There are an abundance of favorable situations for these disruptive rookies.

The key components to being on the list of potential winners include playing time, play design and proper usage of player skill sets. If all of these boxes are checked, it bodes well for rookies to hit the ground running towards the DROY award.

Here are the names most likely to claim the honor in the coming NFL season.

Mike Green, Edge, Baltimore Ravens

AP Photo/Nick Wass

Mike Green was among the best pass-rushers in the 2025 draft. He blends speed, explosiveness and elite bend/agility. Due to off-field concerns, though, he fell out of Round 1.

The Baltimore Ravens are a team that keeps it simple and "drafts good players." And their defense lacked a young "go-to" edge-rusher with the traits Green offered, so this could be a match made in heaven.

The Marshall product's first-step quickness should be utilized in the role of a designated pass-rusher (DPR). The Ravens' starters are Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh. Both veterans are good run defenders and edge-setters. This will put Green as a rotational defender as a rookie, but his athletic ability will give offensive tackles headaches late in games with fresh legs.

If the 21-year-old is deployed mostly on passing downs, he has the chance to rack up sacks and pressures to impact the game.

Last season, Los Angeles Rams defender Jared Verse had 4.5 sacks and outstanding pressure numbers, leading to him securing DROY honors.

Green can stamp himself as the most impactful rookie defender with the proper game plan from his defensive coordinator.

Walter Nolen, IDL, Arizona Cardinals

AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

The quickest path to the quarterback is up the middle of the offensive line.

The Arizona Cardinals have revamped their defensive line and pass-rush unit. This will be important with the talented QBs they will face in the NFC and NFC West in 2025.

If the Cardinals plan to make it to the playoffs, their defense will need to take another step to being a good to great unit.

Walter Nolen is a physically skilled interior defensive lineman who can cut his way into the backfield. He joins veterans Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell as the main interior defenders for Jonathan Gannon's defensive front. The Ole Miss product adds the juice and passes rushing up the middle of the OL.

Nolen has an explosive first step that puts offensive linemen on their heels. In one-on-one sequences, he can transfer that speed to power and bowl over blockers. He will play his natural positions, 4i- and 3-Technique in this defense as a single gap penetrator. As a result, he will see plenty of pass-rush reps to rack up the pressures and sacks.

Mason Graham, IDL, Cleveland Browns

AP Photo/Phil Long

Mason Graham was the best defender on Michigan’s defense. He faced double and triple teams from opposing offensive lines to limit his impact as much as possible.

The 21-year-old is the latest addition to the Cleveland Browns' defensive line, which bodes well for him. He won't receive the same attention from offensive lines as at the college level. Playing alongside the NFL's best edge-rusher, Myles Garrett, will provide him with more one-on-one and advantageous reps.

In college, he was a better run defender than pass-rusher because he rarely saw single coverage. There's a developmental curve, but he is talented enough to make the leap.

Graham's case for Defensive Rookie of the Year will be based on how impactful he can be with single-gap responsibilities. He is capable of generating pressure and pushing the pocket into the quarterback's face.

He should have opportunities to close the deal on sacks. Garrett will force QBs to step up in the pocket, opening the door for him to secure clean-up sacks and stuff his stat sheet.

Graham's run defense is evident and expected to benefit him in a tough AFC North, but making plays as a pass-rusher against Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and likely Aaron Rodgers is why he was selected with the fifth overall pick this year.

Mykel Williams, Edge, San Francisco 49ers

AP Photo/Tony Avelar

Mykel Williams expects to have a prominent role for the San Francisco 49ers defense in 2025. He was drafted for his high-ceiling tools and elite physical traits/body type but lacked pass-rushing productivity.

The Georgia product is a floor-raising talent against the run. This is where his impact will be felt initially as a rookie. He will be paired with star defensive end Nick Bosa and returning defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. That bodes well for a developmental pass-rusher.

The Niners recently completed a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for edge-rusher Bryce Huff. This move adds a more dynamic element to their pass rush. The other benefit is Williams doesn't have to align on the edges to be successful or impactful. He is accustomed to being used as a 4i interior defensive lineman.

If the 20-year-old is deployed more as an interior rusher, it will create more advantageous matchups for him physically against less athletic and shorter armed interior lineman.

Williams shouldn't worry about snap share because his run defense will more than likely place him close to a starting role during his rookie season. From there, he has to unleash his skill set and display why his ceiling is so high.

Jalon Walker, Edge/LB, Atlanta Falcons

AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

Jalon Walker is expected to become the face of the Atlanta Falcons' pass rush. A team that has struggled to pressure the quarterback for two decades.

General manager Terry Fontenot understood the assignment and his team's Achilles heel. After selecting Walker with the 15th pick, optimism is building for the future of the Falcons' pass rush.

Walker was not a full-time pass-rusher for Georgia. He played both off-ball linebacker and standup edge-rusher. Could he play the same role for the Falcons? Absolutely.

On early downs of the offensive possession, the 21-year-old can join Kaden Ellis on the second level of the defense and help bolster their run defense in a division in which their counterparts use the run to set up the pass.

For context, Walker accounted for 60 combined tackles and six-and-a-half sacks for the Bulldogs in 2024.

If he can repeat that level of success and impact in 2025, he will make a compelling case for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Head coach Raheem Morris had success with a former SEC edge-rusher during his time as defensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams. Byron Young has consecutive impactful seasons rushing the passer with over 50 pressures and seven sacks each year.

Walker could be on a similar path in a more pass-rushing role as a rookie. His speed, strength, dip/bend and unmatched motor will be annoying for opposing blockers to deal with on third downs all season.

The future of the Falcons' pass rush is bright, and Walker will have a huge hand in that.

Abdul Carter, Edge/LB, New York Giants

AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Abdul Carter is being inserted into an interesting defensive situation with the New York Giants, joining elite defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and veteran edge-rushers Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux. 

The question is where will the Penn State product align the majority of his snaps? Best theory, playing him as an off-ball linebacker on early downs to help fit against the run before reducing to the edges to rush the passer on third downs. 

Carter is an explosive athlete with sideline-to-sideline range who elevates the Giants’ run defense. His speed is an asset against dual-threat QBs in the NFC East, such as Jayden Daniels and Jalen Hurts.

Having an outstanding athlete and a positionally versatile player such as Carter has multiple benefits for the New York defense. 

Carter can account for 80-plus tackles, 10-plus tackles for loss and nearly 10 sacks as a rookie, if deployed as both off-ball linebacker and pass-rusher.

If he can put those numbers on his rookie end-of-year stat sheet, his case for Defensive Rookie of the Year will be hard to deny.