The NFL season is about to kickoff, here are five candidates who could take home this year’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams - The back-to-back winner of this award is once again the front-runner to claim the title of the best defensive player in the NFL. After winning the award in 2017, Donald managed to outdo himself in 2018. The defensive tackle led the league with 20.5 sacks, and 25 tackles for loss, while totaling 41 QBHits, setting career highs with all three. The 2019 season is the first time since 2016 that Donald attended training camp with the Los Angeles Rams, after he skipped camp the past two seasons due to contract disputes. Donald’s contract issues were put to rest on Aug. 31, 2018 when he signed a six-year, $135 million extension, with $87 million guaranteed. The questions about him being worth that much money were quickly silenced during his 2018 career year, something he’ll look to follow up this season as he aims to become the first player to win this award three years in a row.

Khalil Mack, Chicago Bears -  Recently ranked No. 3 on the Top 100 players, Mack enters the 2019 season geared up for his second season with the Chicago Bears. Similar to Donald, Mack held out and chose to not report to training camp. However, the Oakland Raiders didn’t give into his contract demands, and traded him to the Bears. The linebacker’s impact was immediately felt with his new team, and in his first game Mack had one sack, three tackles, two forced turnovers and a touchdown. An injury forced the 2016 Defensive player of the year to miss Weeks 8 and 9, despite missing two games, and not having limited snaps in that Week 1 game, Mack still set his highest sack total since 2015 with 12.5 sacks and had a career-high six forced fumbles. With a full training camp under his belt, and settling in to his second year in Chicago, Mack is a prime candidate to dethrone Donald.

JJ Watt, Huston Texans - From 2012-2015 this award could’ve been named after Watt. His breakout season in 2012 saw him win the award for the first time. After a slow 2013, he followed that up by winning the award back-to-back years in 2014 and 2015. By the time 2016 had rolled around, Watt had firmly established himself as one of the top players in the NFL. But injuries slowed him down for two seasons, and he only suited up in eight games between 2016 and 2017. The Houston Texan was healthy once again for the 2018 season and didn’t skip a beat, totaling 16 sacks, 25 QBHits while adding a league-high seven forced fumbles. Watt enters the 2019 season healthy and ready to help the Texans get to the playoffs for the second straight season. We’ve seen in the past what he’s capable of when healthy as he looks to claim this award for the first time in four years.

Von Miller, Denver Broncos -  A mainstay for the Denver Broncos over the past eight seasons, Miller enters the 2019 season after one of his best years of his career, posting 14.5 sacks, 26 QBHits and four forced fumbles in 2018. The seven-time Pro Bowler is always a threat to get to the quarterback when he’s on the field, his 98 career sacks have him tied for second-most among active players. Miller’s stardom was on its highest display in Super Bowl 50. His two-and-a-half sacks, two QBHits and two forced fumbles earned him MVP honours. Miller has been consistent in his career, with 10+ sacks in all but one – injury shortened - season during his career. If the 30-year-old can repeat his numbers from last year and add a few big performances – like Super Bowl 50 - he will have a legitimate shot at taking home his first defensive player of the year award.

Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns -  Entering his third season in the NFL, Garrett is coming off of an impressive sophomore season. After playing in just 11 games in 2017, he started in all 16 games for Cleveland last year. The increased playing time came with increased production in sacks, forced fumbles, QBHits, tackles and tackles for loss. His 2018 play earned him second-team, All-Pro honours. With the Cleveland Browns such a hot topic of the media, and the amount of nationally televised games they will play, Garrett will have a chance to impress the voters with his play on a national stage while others might slide under the radar. At just 23-years-old, Garrett could make himself a household name by once again increasing his level of production as he looks to help lead the Browns to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.