30 NFL players you won’t believe never won an award

3. Ronnie Lott
Pro Football Hall of Fame: 2000

There were few players in the history of the league who was as impactful as Ronnie Lott. The San Francisco 49ers safety should get way more credit for that dynasty. He had one of the craziest careers, and we’re still trying to make it make sense that he never won Defensive Player of the Year. 

We’ll get to when he deserved that title, but the fact he didn’t win Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1981 is even crazier. He was sixth in MVP voting. As a rookie. As a defensive rookie. And he didn’t win Defensive Rookie of the Year. How did that happen? *checks notes and sees Lawrence Taylor won DROY and DPOY. Well then… 

Still, Lott would go on to have this insane career for a team that was constantly at the top of the standings. Yes, the offense took the headlines in the Bay Area, but Lott was still guiding that defense to wins on a weekly basis. He would go on to be a six-time first-team All-Pro, and he would be in the top four of Defensive Player of the Year voting two more times. In 1991, he led the league in interceptions and added 93 tackles. Not sure what more the voters want from Lott.

This is truly a situation where Lott played with too many great players. During his career, the likes of LT, Reggie White, Rod Woodson, Bruce Smith, Mike Singletary, and Deion Sanders were winning that award. Ironically, the one we could really argue was 1991 when the Saints Pat Swilling won. That was Lott’s first year with the Raiders.