Every Grizzlies member found on ESPN's awards predictions (and why they can win)

Jaren Jackson Jr.: Defensive Player of the Year

Rank: Tied at No. 9

Last year, Jaren Jackson Jr. was tasked with picking up the slack on the offensive end what with the frequent and long-standing absences of the club's two top-scoring options in Ja Morant and Desmond Bane.

While his newly appointed tasks on the more glamorous side of the ball did result in some career-best production (averages a new high of 22.5 points per night), the All-Star saw a slight regression in his defensive efforts compared to the season before when he actually won the highly touted DPOY.

On top of his uptick in energy being used on offense, it must be acknowledged that, with the injury and, ultimately, trade of Steven Adams, Jackson was also frequently found playing out of position, as he manned the pivot spot for a majority of the campaign.

Now, with both Morant and Bane slated to be back in the mix the 24-year-old can take on his preferred tertiary scoring role, while the addition of Zach Edey will allow him to slide back to his more natural position of power forward where, during his award-winning run in 2022-23, he ranked first in blocks per game (3.0) and block percentage (9.6), third in defensive rating (110.7) and held opposing players to the lowest field goal percentage (45.3) and largest field goal percentage difference (-2.2) in the entire league.