PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – NFL Defensive Player of the Year did NOT go to TJ Watt, rather to Browns defensive lineman Myles Garrett.
The first time ever, the award started in 1971, a Browns player was honored as a player of the year. In comparing Garrett and Watt, here are the categories where Watt had better stats than Garrett:
• Sacks-Watt had 5 more
• Tackles for Loss-Watt had 2 more
• Tackles-Watt had 26 more
• QB hits-Watt had 6 more
• Passes Defended-Watt had 5 more
• Interceptions-Watt had one
It’s been noted Garrett is the only active player with 10 or more sacks in each of the last six seasons. Watt missed seven games last season and didn’t reach double figures, although Watt led the NFL in sacks in each of the last three seasons where he played at least 15 games.
Watt won the award in 2021 and joined fellow Steelers Joe Greene (1972, 1974), Mel Blount (1975), Jack Lambert (1976), Rod Woodson (1993), James Harrison (2008), Troy Polamalu (2010).