Did Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt get screwed out of the 2020 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award? Many Steelers fans certainly believe that was the case. That said, Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald won the award and now Watt will look to win it for a first time in 2021. The early odds, however, don’t have him as the favorite to do so.
Betonline.ag has just released their latest early odds on who they think will win the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year award and they have Donald as the favorite at +450.
Watt isn’t even the second favorite to win the award in 2021 as that honor currently belongs to Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett at +550.
In reality, Watt is quite a bot of a longer shot to win the award in 2021 based on early odds as he’s listed currently at +900, which is 9-to-1. His older brother, J.J. Watt, who is now with the Arizona Cardinals, is listed at +2800 to win the award that he’s already won three times previously.
What kind of stats will it take from Watt in 2021 for him to win the Defensive Player of the Year award? Well, he didn’t win it in 2020 after registering a league leading 15 sacks, so there’s that. He also led the NFL in tackles for loss (23) and quarterback hits (41) as well. So, yeah, it’s a great question as to what it will take for him to win the award in 2021 and I’m not sure I can answer it.
By the way, Steelers inside linebacker Devin Bush is listed at +6600 to win the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021 while outside linebacker Bud Dupree, who is now with the Tennessee Titans, is also listed at +6600 to win the award.