The NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year odds board is crowded with pass rushers at the top, as those defensive ends and linebackers selected high in the 2022 NFL Draft will have a shot to contribute right away.

The first three pass rushers off the board in the draft are favored to win -- Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson (+500), Giants DE Kayvon Thibodeaux (+550) and the No. 1 overall pick, Jaguars EDGE Travon Walker (+650).

Defensive Rookie of the Year used to be a linebackers award, as LBs won 26 of the first 47 awards. And many were more traditional inside linebackers who racked up tackles and nothing else. But over the last decade, it's become more of a pass-rushers award, with six of the last eight winners making sacks their primary statistical contribution.

That's why Jets CB Sauce Gardner, Texans CB Derek Stingley and Ravens S Kyle Hamilton are not among the top betting choices, despite the first two being top 10 picks. Just 10 defensive backs have ever won Defensive Rookie of the Year. All three are in the +1000 to +1200 range, depending on the sportsbook.

The next tier has some interesting names, like Jags LB Devin Lloyd, who stuffed the stat sheet at Utah, and Eagles DT Jordan Davis, the mammoth inside presence for Georgia who had a much bigger impact than his basic stats would suggest.

This has not been an award for longshots. Most of the winners have been first-round picks and opened the season with single-digit odds.

1. Aidan Hutchinson (+500)

• Lions
• Defensive End
• No. 2 overall pick
• College: Michigan

Hutchinson had a monster senior season at Michigan, helping lead the Wolverines to their first Big Ten title under Jim Harbaugh and first win over Ohio State in almost a decade.

2. Kayvon Thibodeaux (+550)

• Giants
• Defensive End
• No. 5 overall pick
• College: Oregon

Thibodeaux was favored to be the top pick at many points throughout the 2021 college season, but ultimately dipped a bit before the Giants scooped him up at No. 5. He has tons of raw ability and was one of the highest-rated recruits in high school football history.

3. Travon Walker (+650)

• Jaguars
• EDGE
• No. 1 overall pick
• College: Georgia

Walker tested so well at the combine the Jaguars passed on more productive college players to select him No. 1 overall. He posted just six sacks and 33 tackles for an elite Georgia defense in 2021.

4. Quay Walker (+900)

• Packers
• Linebacker
• No. 22 overall pick
• College: Georgia

The other Walker waited behind some great linebackers to get his shot at Georgia but became a focal point of the Bulldogs national-title winning defense. He's more of a traditional linebacker than a pass

5. Jermaine Johnson II (+900)

• Jets
• Defensive End
• No. 26 overall pick
• College: Florida State

Johnson dropped to the end of the first round but played brilliantly in his only full year as a starter. Johnson starred on the Netflix docu-series "Last Chance U" after being academically ineligible to play college football coming out of high school. He started his career at Georgia and then transferred to Florida State, where he was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year with 11.5 sacks.