Most people reading this will agree that T.J. Watt should probably have at least two Defensive Player of the Year awards to his name. He won the award in 2021 while tying the single-season sack record, but he has also finished second in the voting twice and third another time.
There are a lot of good candidates for the 2024 season, but former NFL WR Harry Douglas is picking Watt to ultimately take the award.
“Why not go to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the guy that’s been consistent for this team. And also, when he’s not there, it shows that they can’t win football games. I’m going with T.J. Watt,” Douglas said on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Thursday. “A guy who’s led the league in sacks three of the last four years. In the one year he didn’t, he only played 10 games. So what history tells me, if he would’ve played 17 games in 2022, he would’ve led the league in sacks again.
“Again, I’m going with T.J. Watt. Thought he was gonna win it last season. That was Myles Garrett. But I think 2024 is gonna be different.”
The only thing that has been able to slow down Watt in his career thus far was the 2022 pec injury he suffered. Other than that, he posted 71 total sacks in the four most recent seasons that he was healthy. He was only a few votes behind Garrett for the 2023 DPOY award, and just seven votes behind Aaron Donald in 2020.
The list of players to win multiple DPOY awards isn’t long, but Watt is definitely a deserving candidate. And with the NFL cracking down on illegal formation penalties when offensive tackles are lined up too far back, Watt could be in for another huge year.
As of the writing of this post, DraftKings Sportsbook has Watt tied with Cowboys OLB Micah Parsons for the best odds to win the award.
Douglas was asked “why not Parsons?”
“The thing about Micah Parsons, he’s going into a new scheme, a new system,” Douglas said. “Now, Mike Zimmer is a phenomenal defensive coordinator…but there’s gonna be a learning curve. Is he gonna be able to utilize Micah Parsons in the right way?”
There is a wild card with Parsons. He is definitely talented enough to win the award, but a scheme change adds an unexpected element. Meanwhile, Watt is entering his third season under DC Teryl Austin. If anything, the personnel around him has improved which could provide him a boost with quarterbacks being flushed out of the pocket or forced to hold onto the ball with the secondary a little better in 2024.
Those aren’t the only two candidates. Maxx Crosby, Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, Aidan Hutchinson, Chris Jones, Kyle Hamilton, and others could emerge as strong candidates as well. But if Watt adds another sack crown, he should win the award.
