T.J. Watt is pretty good, but unfortunately he doesn’t win enough of his pass rushes. That is one of the principal reasons he lost the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year Award to Myles Garrett. While he would like to see his guy win, Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin is just glad to have the opportunity to coach him.
Both Watt and Garrett went in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft and have faced comparison since. Going to two teams in the same division only fostered that link. Their emergence at the top of their position only cemented it, and it’s not going away. But most people know who they would pick, including Martin.
“Well, you know, I don’t work for the Browns’ side. I wouldn’t really know their aspect of it. I’ll just tell you that I’ll take my guy”, Martin said of Watt, via the team’s website. “That’s just what I’m gonna say. The work he puts in and the things he does for me gives me confidence. I don’t really get into that argument, that battle, because I got the guy and I think he’s the best in the world. So that’s where I stand on that argument”.
Martin was a scouting assistant when the Steelers drafted T.J. Watt in 2017. He became a coaching assistant the following year and then assistant outside linebackers coach in 2020. Last year, he took over the outside linebackers coach job and saw Watt record a league-leading 19 sacks.
Unfortunately, having led the league in sacks for the third time in four years wasn’t enough to win the DPOY award. Largely fostered by advanced analytics driven by outlets like Pro Football Focus, the discussion turned to things like pass-rush win rate.
There, so they claim, Watt loses out to Garrett and others, but Martin isn’t hearing it. “That’s right, they don’t work here, though”, he quipped. “I don’t gotta answer to Pro Football Focus”.
Many football fans have a tolerate-hate relationship with Pro Football Focus. The difference often depends on whether their data supports or contradicts their argument, though that’s a gross generalization. While their data has merit, it needs to be evaluated within its proper context rather than as a substitute criterion. The Watt and Garrett debate has been a litmus test for just that.
And where we always wind up is the simple fact that both T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett are great. I’m sure the Steelers would gladly keep Watt and the Browns feel the same about their guy. That is how these things tend to work. And there are about 25 or more other teams that would kill to trade their best guy for either one.
Thus far, Watt has recorded 96.5 sacks with 401 tackles, 107 tackles for loss, 27 forced fumbles, and 7 interceptions. Garrett has 88.5 career sacks with 305 tackles, 94 tackles for loss, 17 forced fumbles, and zero interceptions. The numbers clearly favor Watt, though the film shows the race to be closer than that. Still, it doesn’t change preferences. Denzel Martin has his choice—literally. And I’m sure the Browns’ equivalent feels the same about Garrett. Though he probably has a higher opinion of Pro Football Focus, too.
