| 1967 Detroit Lions | Lem Barney | |
| 1968 Atlanta Falcons | Claude Humphrey | |
| 1969 Pittsburgh Steelers | Joe Greene | |
| 1970 San Francisco 49ers | Bruce Taylor | |
| 1971 Los Angeles Rams | Isiah Robertson | |
| 1972 Green Bay Packers | Willie Buchanon | |
| 1973 Chicago Bears | Wally Chambers | |
| 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers | Jack Lambert | |
| 1975 Houston Oilers | Robert Brazile | |
| 1976 New England Patriots | Mike Haynes | |
| 1977 Miami Dolphins | A.J. Duhe | |
| 1978 Detroit Lions | Al Baker | |
| 1979 Buffalo Bills | Jim Haslett | |
| 1980 Atlanta Falcons | Buddy Curry | |
| 1980 Atlanta Falcons | Al Richardson | |
| 1981 New York Giants | Lawrence Taylor | |
| 1982 Cleveland Browns | Chip Banks | |
| 1983 Baltimore Colts | Vernon Maxwell | |
| 1984 Kansas City Chiefs | Bill Maas | |
| 1985 Indianapolis Colts | Duane Bickett | |
| 1986 San Diego Chargers | Leslie O'Neal | |
| 1987 Buffalo Bills | Shane Conlan | |
| 1988 New York Jets | Erik McMillan | |
| 1989 Kansas City Chiefs | Derrick Thomas | |
| 1990 Chicago Bears | Mark Carrier | |
| 1991 Denver Broncos | Mike Croel | |
| 1992 Kansas City Chiefs | Dale Carter | |
| 1993 San Francisco 49ers | Dana Stubblefield | |
| 1994 Miami Dolphins | Tim Bowens | |
| 1995 New York Jets | Hugh Douglas | |
| 1996 Arizona Cardinals | Simeon Rice | |
| 1997 Baltimore Ravens | Peter Boulware | |
| 1998 Oakland Raiders | Charles Woodson | |
| 1999 Tennessee Titans | Jevon Kearse | |
| 2000 Chicago Bears | Brian Urlacher | |
| 2001 Pittsburgh Steelers | Kendrell Bell | |
| 2002 Carolina Panthers | Julius Peppers | |
| 2003 Baltimore Ravens | Terrell Suggs | |
| 2004 New York Jets | Jonathan Vilma | |
| 2005 San Diego Chargers | Shawne Merriman | |
| 2006 Houston Texans | DeMeco Ryans | |
| 2007 San Francisco 49ers | Patrick Willis | |
| 2008 New England Patriots | Jerod Mayo | |
| 2009 Houston Texans | Brian Cushing | |
| 2010 Detroit Lions | Ndamukong Suh | |
| 2011 Denver Broncos | Von Miller | |
| 2012 Carolina Panthers | Luke Kuechly | |
| 2013 New York Jets | Sheldon Richardson | |
| 2014 St. Louis Rams | Aaron Donald | |
| 2015 Kansas City Chiefs | Marcus Peters | |
| 2016 San Diego Chargers | Joey Bosa | |
| 2017 New Orleans Saints | Marshon Lattimore | |
| 2018 Indianapolis Colts | Darius Leonard | |
| 2019 San Francisco 49ers | Nick Bosa | |
| 2020 Washington Football Team | Chase Young | |
| 2021 Dallas Cowboys | Micah Parsons | |
| 2022 New York Jets | Sauce Gardner | |
| 2024 Los Angeles Rams | Jared Verse | |