Pittsburgh Steelers fans are probably still gritting their teeth knowing that Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is probably going to prevail over TJ Watt in the race for Defensive Player of the Year, but they might explode after hearing where Rich Eisen has the premier linebacker in his ranking.
“It would be between Myles Garrett and {Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher} Maxx Crosby even though I know Watt was superb,” the television and radio host opined, per Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora. “Gosh, I would eventually cast my ballot for Garrett.”
Eisen is continuing a trend of pundits refusing to completely abide by the box-score statistics.
Watt, who was recently named a First-Team All-Pro for the fourth time in his prolific career, led the NFL with 19 sacks this season. He has more tackles for loss than Garrett (19-17) and beats out Crosby in forced fumbles (4-2). Watt also fares superior over both DPOY finalists in quarterback hits with 36, illustrating the fear he regularly instills in opposing offensive lines and signal-callers.
Could a new DPOY rivalry be born between TJ Watt and Myles Garrett?
Those numbers above do not account for other factors like whom a player shares a D-Line with and how much attention they consistently receive in the trenches, but No. 90 is difficult to keep out of the top two for this prestigious award.
It feels like Myles Garrett has been marching towards this potential coronation most of the season, though. Both him and TJ Watt have been forced to compensate for deficiencies and injuries on the offensive end, doing everything in their power and then some to push their respective squads into the playoffs. Unfortunately, a knee injury prevented Watt from seeing his hard work pay off in the AFC Wild Card Round.
And now, it seems that another thing is likely to against him. He won Defensive Player of the Year honors after the 2021-22 campaign, which should soften this expected blow, but there is definitely a strong case to be made for him to snag the title again. And Steelers fans will incessantly make it to Rich Eisen whenever they get the opportunity.
