The Last Defensive NFL MVP

Published on July 28th, 2025 5:14 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Quarterbacks usually win MVP. Running backs, sometimes. Wide receivers? Rarely. Defense? Almost never.

Except once.

In 1986, Lawrence Taylor won NFL MVP. A linebacker. A defensive player. Unheard of then. Still unheard of now.

LT didn't just win games. He wrecked them. 20.5 sacks. A blur off the edge. Quarterbacks feared him. Coaches game-planned around him. Still, they couldn't stop him.

Taylor led the Giants to a 14-2 record. They dominated on defense. Opponents averaged just 14.8 points per game. Taylor was the engine.

The MVP voting wasn't close. Taylor received 20 of 28 votes. Dan Marino and Eric Dickerson didn't stand a chance. It was Taylor's year. Pure dominance.

No defensive player has won MVP since. Not one. Not even Aaron Donald. Not even J.J. Watt in his prime.

That makes Taylor's 1986 season even more absurd. The NFL is an offensive league. Always has been. Yet Taylor bulldozed his way into a QB-only award.

The NFL MVP has become a quarterback trophy. Safe. Predictable. Offensive numbers dominate headlines. But 1986 was different. A reminder that defense, once in a generation, can still take over.

Lawrence Taylor didn't just win MVP. He forced the league to acknowledge the other side of the ball. His dominance in 1986 wasn't hype. It was historic. And nearly four decades later, no one has done it again.