The rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns has mostly been lopsided in the Steelers’ favor, with the Browns constantly stuck in the same cycle of losing. However, one area that is super competitive between both franchises is who has the better edge rusher. T.J. Watt has come a long way from just being J.J. Watt’s little brother, defining his own incredible legacy with the Steelers, while Myles Garrett has helped the Browns climb out of the NFL’s sewer and actually see some success. A recent article from ESPN had Garrett ranked just above Watt as the top edge rusher in football, but one former NFL defensive tackle disagrees with this decision.
Booger McFarland played defensive tackle in the NFL from 1999 to 2007, winning two Super Bowls. Now, as an analyst for ESPN appearing on a recent episode of NFL Live, McFarland stated that if he were making the list, he would have placed Watt above Garrett.
“I would put Watt number one. I just like his versatility,” McFarland said. “We just talked about not only his pass rush win rate, also his interceptions. And you add in Micah Parsons and his versatility, he can rush on the edge. He can rush over the guard. He can rush different places. When you look at Myles Garrett, a dominant player, he’s more of a power player. He has some speed-to-power capabilities, but you don’t think about him with the array of moves that you do with a T.J. Watt or a Micah Parsons.
“If it were me, I would go T.J. Watt number one, I would put Micah Parsons number two, and it sounds crazy to put the Defensive Player of the Year at three.”
Steelers’ fans will likely love to hear that from McFarland. Many would argue that Garrett’s Defensive Player of the Year award last year should’ve gone to Watt, and most numbers would back that up. Advanced stats loved Garrett, though, so he edged out Watt for the victory. Watt already has one of those awards, though, and that isn’t the first time it’s felt like he’s been robbed of it.
Garrett had 14 sacks last year, while Watt led the league with 19. The award for best defensive player shouldn’t automatically go to the player with the most sacks, but it also shouldn’t just be given to the guy with the best numbers in a random stat pulled from Pro Football Focus. It should go to the best overall defensive player, and there’s an argument to be made that Watt owned that title.
The subject of sacks versus pressures has been beaten to death, but as McFarland points out, Watt has both and then some. Joe Burrow even recently highlighted Watt’s excellent ballhawk abilities, showing how he impacts the game in multiple different ways. Watt has seven career interceptions and 27 forced fumbles to go along with that. On the other hand, Garrett has zero interceptions and 17 forced fumbles. Garrett is an incredible player with generational athleticism, but he doesn’t have those other little components of his game that Watt does.
At this point, the only true way to decide the winner may be whichever player can lead their franchise to a championship. Watt seems like he’s over individual awards and statistics, focused more on winning a playoff game on the road to capturing the Steelers’ seventh Super Bowl. Garrett and the Browns have playoff hopes, too, even if their franchise doesn’t have a great track record in that regard. Maybe these two teams will match up in the playoffs, and this debate can finally be settled, with one of them outperforming the other.
