Disrespected: Zack Baun finished 5th in Defensive Player of the Year voting

Even though Zack Baun had the best season any linebacker has had since Luke Kuechly, I always kind of thought it was a long-shot for him to win Defensive Player of the Year. But to finish fifth in the voting, that’s just disrespectful.

Denver CB Patrick Surtain ended up taking the award home. He had a great year so I really have no issue with him winning, despite the fact that Zack Baun had the far superior year. Behind Surtain, Trey Hendrickson, Myles Garrett (future Eagle), and TJ Watt all got more first place votes than Zack Baun

Zack Baun got completely disrespected by voters

AP Defensive Player of the Year voting:

Patrick Surtain II 26-11-2-4-1: 330
Trey Hendrickson 11-10-9-8-2: 205
Myles Garrett 5-11-12-8-5: 162
T.J. Watt 3-7-8-11-3: 114
Zack Baun 2-2-6-5-5: 63
Kerby…

— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) February 7, 2025

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What bothers me most is that these voters are supposed to know ball. This isn’t supposed to be a popularity contest like the Pro Bowl. Once you see the list of all the voters, it becomes clear that this is simply a media drive award, voted on by people who make money to come up with headlines and narratives.

Here’s the full list of the 50 people who snubbed Zack Baun:

• Emmanuel Acho – FS1
• Kay Adams – FanDuel TV
• Greg Auman – Fox Sports
• Jarrett Bell – USA Today
• Dave Birkett – Detroit Free Press
• Tom Brady – Fox Sports
• Tedy Bruschi – ESPN
• Vic Carucci – WGRZ Radio
• Mark Craig – Minneapolis Star Tribune
• Tom Curran – NBC Sports Boston
• Nate Davis – USA Today
• Tony Digiulio – ESPN
• Tony Dungy – NBC Sports
• Jori Epstein – Yahoo Sports
• Doug Farrar – Athlon Sports
• Mike Florio – Pro Football Talk
• Reuben Frank – NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Rich Gannon – SiriusXM
• Jonathan Jones – CBS Sports
• Lindsay Jones – The Ringer
• Mike Jones – The Athletic
• Ira Kaufman – JoeBucsFan.com
• Mina Kimes – ESPN
• Aditi Kinkhabwala – CBS
• Pat Kirwan – SiriusXM
• Diante Lee – The Ringer
• John McMullen – Sports Illustrated Now
• Jim Miller – SiriusXM
• Sam Monson – The 33rd Team
• Bruce Murray – SiriusXM
• Gary Myers – NFL Author
• Laura Okmin – Fox Sports
• Dan Orlovsky – ESPN
• Nick Pavlatos – SiriusXM
• Dan Pompei – The Athletic
• Nora Princiotti – The Ringer
• Pete Prisco – CBS
• Lorenzo Reyes – USA Today
• Charles Robinson – Yahoo Sports
• Dianna Russini – The Athletic
• Mike Sando – The Athletic
• Aaron Schatz – FTN Network
• Adam Schein – CBS Sports
• Mike Silver – The AthleticT
• om Silverstein – Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
• Chris Simms – NBC Sports
• Armando Salguero – Outkick.com
• Mike Tirico – NBC Sports
• Ben Volin – Boston Globe
• Charean Williams – Pro Football Talk

You’ll notice that every single one of these people work for sports media companies. These are not the people who should decide who wins awards. Honestly, it should be players and coaches — people who actually work in the NFL.

I mean, I love Kay Adams, but I don’t think she should be voting on these awards. Chris Simms, Emanuel Acho, and Dan Orlovsky? All people who drive agendas whenever they get a microphone in their hands? I understand that this is what professional sports has become, but can’t we have at least one sacred thing in sports?

Zack Baun deserved better than this. It’s a slap in the face to him and everyone who’s actually watched him play all season. You convince me that all 50 of these voters watched film on these players. Again, love Kay Adams, but she doesn’t strike me as a film junky.

These awards are a great accomplishment, sure. But at the end of the day, the only trophy that matters is the Lombardi Trophy. Zack Baun will have a chance to hoist that in just two days.

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