With the Pittsburgh Steelers eliminated from the postseason weeks ago, all that’s left is to wait and see if any of their players come out on top for postseason awards. OLB T.J. Watt is up for the Defensive Player of the Year Award. CB Joey Porter Jr. is up for the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.
Watt has already won the award once in 2021. He led the NFL with 22.5 sacks that season; this year, he only led with 19. Still, many anticipate that he will lose to the Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett, who has five fewer sacks.
As it would be impossible for it to be otherwise the case, Porter has never been up for an NFL award before. But the Steelers have had previous award winners. ILB Kendrell Bell won back in 2001. LB Jack Lambert and DL Joe Green also won in 1974 and 1969, respectively.
The second-round pick is up against stiff competition, including Seattle Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon. The Texans’ Will Anderson, Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Carter, and Rams’ Kobie Turner all helped their teams to the playoffs.
Porter does not have the strongest odds to win, but even receiving votes would be an achievement. While Greene, Lambert, and Bell all won, only two other Steelers received votes. Jack Ham garnered one vote in 1971. Devin Bush received two votes in 2019. That’s the list.
The Steelers, of course, have the most decorated history for Defensive Player of the Year. Six different players have claimed the honor a total of eight times. Green did it twice in 1972 and 1974. Mel Blount and Lambert followed in 1975 and 1976, respectively.
Rod Woodson earned the honor in 1993 before the Steelers experienced a drought. James Harrison broke a 15-year absence on the list when he won in 2008. Then his teammate, Troy Polamalu, won in 2010. His was the last before Watt in 2021.
No other team is even in Pittsburgh’s ballpark in this department. The New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens tie for the second-most Defensive Player of the Year Awards. Lawrence Taylor won it three times for the New York Giants, and Michael Strahan added a fourth for the organization. For the Ravens, Ray Lewis claimed the title twice, followed by Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs.
Watt can become the eighth player to win the award twice—though many argue he should have already won two or three times. Taylor, J.J. Watt, and Aaron Donald have each one three times. Greene, Lewis, Mike Singletary, and Reggie White are also multiple-time winners.
Several teams have as many or more Defensive Rookie of the Year Award winners than the Steelers, however. The New York Jets have had five players claim the award, most recently Sauce Gardner in 2022. A cornerback has won the award three times in the past decade and nine times overall.
Just in case you’re curious, four Steelers have won the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. QB Ben Roethlisberger was the last in 2004. WR Louis Lipps (1984), RB Franco Harris (1972), and WR Jimmy Orr (1958) previously won. No Steelers have ever won Offensive Player of the Year. QB Terry Bradshaw is their only Most Valuable Player Award winner in 1978.
