Pittsburgh Steelers LB T.J. Watt was not surprised when he did not win the Defensive Player of the Year Award at Thursday’s NFL Honors ceremony. In fact, he was so sure he wasn’t winning the award that he decided to spend time elsewhere. That doesn’t mean Steelers fans everywhere weren’t mad when Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett took home the award.
One man who was at least a little surprised was former Las Vegas Raiders senior vice president and FB Marcel Reece. He joined CBS Sports HQ Thursday night to provide some reactions to the ceremony. When he was asked about any surprises, he did not hesitate to bring up the DPOY award.
“I was surprised that it didn’t go to the sack leader and it went to a person who came second in sacks and he plays the same position,” Reece said. “I was a little surprised by that, but Myles Garrett is well-deserved and congratulations to him.”
Reactions varied wildly to Garrett getting the award over Watt. After all, Watt led the NFL with 19 sacks while Garrett only had 14. As Steeler Depot’s own Ross McCorkle articulated on Watt being snubbed, Watt either tied or led Garrett in all major defensive statistics in 2023. The one area where Garrett outperformed Watt was in Pro Football Focus’ metric of pass-rush win rate that McCorkle notes in his article.
Now does that mean Garrett had a bad season? Absolutely not. He was incredibly disruptive off the edge and deserves accolades. Does that mean that he was clearly the better player as Dallas Cowboys LB Micah Parsons said on Twitter? I don’t think so, either.
Reece doesn’t even suggest that one player was head and shoulders above the other in this situation. He was surprised that the award didn’t go to Watt, who was the most productive pass-rusher in the NFL. He also said that Garrett was deserving.
One thing that gets lost in a lot of these discussions is that two things can be true at the same time. It is entirely possible (and arguably is true) that both Watt and Garrett had great seasons. However, awards like the Defensive Player of the Year typically go to the player who produced the most. When you compare the statistics, that’s Watt. As for why Garrett won the award, you have to look at the advanced statistics and the fact that he was part of a statistically better defense.
You can watch the entirety of Reece’s reactions to the NFL Honors ceremony below:
