It’s been a rollercoaster season for Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt. Despite his sack numbers being down due to opposing offenses committing two and three players to stop Watt on every play, Watt is still one of the most disruptive players in the NFL.
Adam Beasley of Pro Football Network handed out his midseason awards and despite Watt having the seventh-most sacks in the NFL this season was still his Defensive Player of the Year.
Here’s what Beasley had to say about the choice.
And Watt has been a one-man game-wrecker. His four forced fumbles (in nine games) lead the league. His 10 tackles for loss are tied for seventh. Watt also has two recovered fumbles and has three passes defensed.
If Watt gets the honor this year, it will be an upset for sure. DPOY is typically reserved for the guys with big numbers, especially sacks or interceptions. Right now Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson leads the league with 11 and New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence is second in the NFL with nine.
We all know Watt has the potential to string together games with multiple sacks and get right back into the hunt but offensive coordinators are going out of their way to minimize his impact.
