Does T.J. Watt have any shot at this year’s Defensive Player of the Year Award?
The NFL officially announced the finalists for this year’s Defensive Player of the Year Award, with T.J. Watt among them. The question is, does he have any shot of actually winning? The Steelers star earned All-Pro recognition for the 2024 season, but only on the second team, behind Myles Garrett and Trey Hendrickson.
It seems implausible that a player who finished second-team All-Pro would win Defensive Player of the Year. If he were, you would think he would manage to make the first team, presumably. I don’t know if the winner has ever not been a first-team All-Pro, but if so, I’m sure it’s exceedingly rare. And either way, it’s not good news for T.J. Watt.
Watt is among five finalists for this year’s Defensive Player of the Year Award, as he always is. Garrett and Hendrickson are among the other four, along with LB Zack Baun and CB Patrick Surtain II. Watt finished the season with 11.5 sacks, far from the NFL lead, but did lead with six forced fumbles.
While T.J. Watt won the award in 2021, he is typically the runner-up, or the runner-up to the runner-up. He finished second in voting in 2020 and 2023, and third in 2019. Though he made the Pro Bowl in 2022, his lengthy injury scuttled any chance of great accolades that year.
For a while, Watt was actually the favorite to win DPOY. It didn’t help his cause, I’m sure, that he ended the season with two games registering zero statistics. One of those was the Steelers’ playoff loss, which is not supposed to be taken into consideration, but voters are human.
One can argue this is the first time in a healthy season since 2019 in which T.J. Watt doesn’t really deserve to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Of course, one can also argue that he does deserve to win. After all, he is one of the five finalists this year. Even though his numbers are not as gaudy as we have grown accustomed to, he still made impact plays. Six forced fumbles in any year remains an impressive feat, and Watt made timely, difference-making plays. So does he have a shot at winning this one, in a year that was arguably weaker in stud performances?
The Steelers’ 2024 season has come to its predictably inauspicious end, with yet another one-and-done postseason for HC Mike Tomlin. The offense faltered, and the defense matched it blow for blow, leading to a 21-0 first-half deficit.
Just like last year, the biggest question hanging over the Steelers is the quarterback question. Do they still believe in Russell Wilson, and/or Justin Fields, or do they want another solution? There are other major decisions to make, as well, such as what to do with George Pickens. Do you sign him to an extension, try to trade him, or let him play out his rookie contract?
The Steelers started the 2024 season 10-3, with Mike Tomlin in the Coach of the Year conversation. Wash, rinse, and repeat, and we have another late-season collapse. This may be the worst yet, a four-game losing streak presaging a one-and-done playoff “run”. Welcome to Steelers football.
