Rich Eisen wasn’t discussing Mike Tomlin today on his podcast. But his comments will still draw the ire of Pittsburgh Steelers fans. Though he has no official vote, Eisen offered his take on which finalists should win the NFL’s major awards.
Two Steelers sit as finalists. LB T.J. Watt for Defensive Player of the Year and CB Joey Porter Jr. for Defensive Rookie of the Year. For the latter, Eisen’s choice went to Los Angeles Rams DL Kobie Turner, a fair decision given Turner’s strong season finishing with nine sacks as a third-round pick who turned heads.
But Eisen’s choice for DPOY? That’s going to ruffle some feathers. Ultimately, he went with Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett, picking him over Las Vegas Raiders DE Maxx Crosby and leaving Watt sitting in third place on Eisen’s unofficial ballot.
“T.J. Watt, Maxx Crosby, and Myles Garrett,” Eisen said. “It would be between Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby even though I know Watt was superb. Gosh, I would eventually cast my ballot for Garrett.”
Garrett is viewed as the favorite for the award, and most pundits and outlets who have announced their ballot, official or not, have given the nod to Garrett. There have been exceptions, like the 101 Committee, but Garrett remains as the frontrunner to take home his first trophy.
At this point, it isn’t even certain that Watt will finish second. Eisen has him third on his “ballot” while Peter King, holder of one of the 50 official votes, placed Watt third behind Garrett and runner-up Micah Parsons. While Watt’s box-score numbers were superior in every way, Eisen’s criteria judged something else.
“Number one defense in certain regards this year, the NFL Network host said. “He was just a monster. I’ve never seen anybody create a pre-snap penalty because he was motioning.”
Eisen’s referring to the delay of game penalty the Tennessee Titans took against the Browns after attempting to motion two tight ends to match Garrett as he bounced across the formation. The strength of the Browns’ defense can be debated, as Matthew Marczi wrote this morning, finishing 13th in points allowed, though Cleveland finished first in yards allowed.
The show’s producer Chris Brockman reminded Eisen of Watt’s leading numbers, including those 19 sacks. But Eisen wasn’t swayed enough to change his mind.
“I know. I get it, I get it. That’s the toughest one,” he said.
The official winners will be announced in two weeks during NFL Honors on Feb. 8. After leading the league in sacks, Watt figures to garner some first-place votes. But unlikely enough to take home his second DPOY trophy. The Watt versus Garrett debate will continue on. We know on which side of the fence Eisen sits, at least based off this season.
Listen to all of Eisen’s picks below.
