T.J. Watt was clearly unhappy to miss out on winning 2023 Defensive Player of the Year. For someone who bounced back from an injury-marred 2022, led the league in sacks, and had better statistics than anyone he was competing against, it should’ve been his second trophy to place on the mantle. Instead, the award went to Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett. Big brother J.J. Watt made clear T.J.’s frustrations are aimed at the voters and system, not Garrett.
“There’s zero problem whatsoever with Myles Garrett,” J.J. Watt said during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “He’s an unbelievable player. T.J. has zero problem with him whatsoever. He thinks he’s an unbelievable player. This has never been about Myles Garrett or if he’s worthy or if he’s a great player. That is undisputable, he’s a phenomenal player. It’s more just about the overall system and the voting and things like that. That’s what that was last year.”
The 2023 debate was drummed back up this week when Myles Garrett was asked about Watt’s negative reaction, skipping the NFL Honors ceremony and sub-tweeting his displeasure. Garrett said Watt shouldn’t feel animosity toward him for winning the award and joked Watt would need to “apologize” to him this weekend.
Watt responded by deflecting the question and focusing on the Steelers securing their ninth win this weekend. The Internet went back and forth over the comments as it always does when it comes to Watt versus Garrett.
As J.J. outlined, Watt’s issue isn’t with the winner. It’s with the process. Those who voted for Garrett argued he deserved the award not for his better box-score production but his better advanced stats. Pass-rush win and pressure rate were the most common two that tipped the scales in the voters’ minds. Peter King was transparent about his rationale of choosing Garrett.
“Garrett was high in both PFF grade and Next Gen pass-rush metrics, and his team was the number one defense in football,” King wrote in January.
Garrett narrowly edged out Watt in first-place votes and overall scoring to win his first DPOY trophy. Watt has finished in second or third place on three occasions, his only win coming in 2021 after tying the NFL single-season record for sacks. That’s where Watt’s frustration comes from.
“Zero rivalry there with the guy,” J.J. Watt said of T.J. and Garrett.
Drafted in the same year and franchise faces for two teams in the same division, the two will forever be compared. They’re both great players who are likely to end up with the same outcome. Busts in Canton, Ohio, to forever be remembered by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
