A week from today, we’ll find out the official winner for 2023 Defensive Player of the Year. T.J. Watt’s chances look low but if there’s a source of hope, he was named DPOY in an NFL.com vote revealed Thursday morning. Watt beat out Garrett 11-9 in the voting. Out of 32 voters, Watt narrowly took the top spot in what became a three-man race.
No explanations or blurbs accompanied the choice but the win is all that matters, even if it’s not the official vote or conducted by the official voters. Here’s how the results looked:
NFL.com Defensive Player of the Year Voting
1. T.J. Watt – 11 votes
2. Myles Garrett – 9 votes
3. Micah Parsons – 8 votes
4. DaRon Bland – 2 votes
4. Maxx Crosby – 2 votes
Watt beat Garrett out by two votes and Parsons by three. If it’s a sign of things to come, the Associated Press results could be closer than initially expected.
Still, Garrett will head into the NFL Honors show, where the selection will be announced, as the frontrunner. We know he received more All-Pro votes than Watt and that Peter King, one of the 50 official voters, chose Garrett over Watt, whom he placed third on his ballot.
Watt is coming off another sensational season, leading the NFL with 19 sacks. Despite his box score dominance over the field, better numbers than Garrett or Parsons, winning his second DPOY trophy is far from guaranteed. If he can pull off the victory, he’ll join a short list, one that includes big brother J.J. Watt, as one of a handful of players in league history to win the award multiple times.
CB Joey Porter Jr. is also one of five finalists for Defensive Rookie of the Year. But he easily lost out to Houston Texans EDGE Will Anderson, who received 15 votes. Porter came in last with just one ballot cast for him.
Elsewhere in NFL.com’s voting, Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson easily won MVP over San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey while the Houston Texans’ DeMeco Ryans took home Coach of the Year.
All official winners will be announced next Saturday night on NFL Network during NFL Honors, the league’s yearly award show.
