![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="439" width="780" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
Fans and the NFL media alike have debated the past several years whether T.J. Watt or Myles Garrett is the superior defensive player. Other defensive stars such Aaron Donald, Micah Parsons and Nick Bosa are in the discussion for best NFL defender as well.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin made it clear where he falls in the debate.
“What he does, the level of production, I mean, let’s be honest. T.J. is the best defensive player on the planet. Right now,” Tomlin told reporters on November 28. “He proves that week-in and week-out with the plays he delivers us.”
Watt is tied for the NFL lead with 13.5 sacks. There have only been two games this season where Watt didn’t have at least 0.5 sack. In one of those two contests, he recorded an interception.
Watt also has 12 tackles for loss, 25 quarterback hits, and 3 forced fumbles in 11 games this season.
Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin Explains Why T.J. Watt is the Best NFL Defender
Tomlin had several reasons why he stated Watt is the best defensive player in the league.
“I get a bird’s eye view of it — I see the lengths that people go through to minimize his impact on the game,” Tomlin told reporters. “I know the type of games we’ve been in, close ball-games, and how that, at times, minimizes a guy that plays his position’s ability to impact the game.
“None of those things slow down the train that we all know is coming. We’re just appreciative of it.”
Watt has also barely come off the field this season. He’s played 85.92% of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps this season, which is second on the team only to cornerback Patrick Peterson.
The Pro Football Focus player grades don’t have Watt ranked as the NFL’s top defender this season, but he’s near the top of the list. Watt is one of eight defensive players with a PFF player grade above 91 (out of 100).
Among players who have lined up for more than 80% of his team’s defensive snaps, Watt has the second-best defensive player grade behind only Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby. Crosby holds a slim 91.8-91.4 lead.
Watt Chasing NFL Sack, Steelers History
The 29-year-old already wrote his name into the NFL record books with 22.5 sacks during 2021. That tied Michael Strahan’s 20-year-old official record.
But Watt is chasing more history in 2023.
If Watt leads the NFL in sacks again, he would become the first Steelers player ever to lead the league in sacks three times. Los Angeles Rams’ Deacon Jones was the last player to lead the NFL in sacks during three different seasons in the 1960s.
Watt broke Pittsburgh’s sack record in Week 2. He is now 9 sacks away from becoming the first player in Steelers history with 100 career sacks. With 9.5 more sacks this season, he would break his own individual season sack record.
If Watt reached those marks, it’s hard to imagine him not winning another Defensive Player of the Year award. Should he achieve that, Watt would be the first Steelers player to win that award multiple times since Joe Greene in 1972 and 1974.
Garrett, Donald, Parsons, Bosa and others have an argument to be called the NFL’s best defender. But with Watt’s production and analytic statistics, it’s becoming more difficult to disagree with Tomlin’s take on the best defensive player debate.
0 Comments