NFL betting: Micah Parsons has a huge lead in the Defensive Player of the Year odds

It's rare to see a player have minus-odds for an award less than a third of the way through a season.

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons is a rare player, and he's off to a phenomenal start this season.

Parsons is a -110 favorite to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year at BetMGM. Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers is next, but way behind at +700. Nobody else has shorter than 14-to-1 odds. Parsons is running away with the award, according to the odds.

The odds say that even though we haven't hit mid-October, it's already Parsons' award to lose. Anyone who has watched him play this season understands that.

Micah Parsons off to a hot start

Parsons had a tremendous rookie season and was clearly on the radar for DPOY as the season started. That helps when it comes to winning an award. So does playing on a high-profile team like the Cowboys.

Parsons' play has done the rest. He leads the NFL with six sacks. He has been absolutely dominant so far this season for a fantastic Cowboys defense. While Parsons might be the clear DPOY frontrunner if he played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks or anyone else, being on the Cowboys is a clear benefit. He gets a lot of attention.

It helps too that the Cowboys defense has carried the team to a 4-1 record. Everyone wrote off Dallas after they lost in Week 1 and Dak Prescott broke his thumb. They've been undefeated since then, because backup quarterback Cooper Rush has been solid and the defense has been perhaps the best in football.

There's no question who leads the defense. Parsons is controlling games the way you rarely see from any non-quarterback. Opponents can't block him. Even last Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, when he was limping with a groin injury, he kept making plays including a huge third-down sack.

With every week that passes, the odds on Parsons winning Defensive Player of the Year keep moving his way.

Parsons' odds keep getting shorter

Parsons opened the season at +900 odds to win DPOY. Hopefully you got him then, because it's unlikely you'll see anything close to those odds the rest of the season.

Last week Parsons had dropped to +175, which already was very short for an individual award so early in a season. Then he had a big game in a win over the Los Angeles Rams and he's down to -110. It's hard to build that big of a lead for an award in just five games.

At BetMGM, Parsons was the most-bet player for DPOY. Of all the bets made for the award, 23.1% of them were on Parsons, and 26.9% of all money bet on DPOY was on Parsons too. Sportsbooks can't be too happy seeing Parsons dominate every week and pull away from the field.

Injuries have played a role in Parsons' odds dropping. Players like T.J. Watt, last season's DPOY winner, and Joey Bosa are practically out of the running due to long-term injuries. Myles Garrett missed a game as well. Other than Nick Bosa, there's nobody else who is reasonably in the DPOY conversation, though that can change.

Unless another player gets on a roll soon, an injury might be all that stops Parsons from winning the league's top defensive player award. All those Parsons bettors are feeling pretty good right now.