The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t have the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. The organization didn’t in 2020, either, despite TJ Watt’s clear dominance on the football field. AFC North division rival Myles Garrett took home the award most recently, but many questioned why given the nature of Watt’s stat line. It has become hard to understand how the NFL operates when it comes to postseason awards as well as things like Pro Bowl nominations. Overall, fans in the Steel City will never rest until someone gives a legitimate reason as to why Garrett trumped Watt for the high honor after the 2023 campaign.

It is well-known that the Steelers’ incredible edge rusher decided to skip the most recent NFL Honors event. The definitive reason as to why can’t be confirmed, but it’s pretty clear that Watt, and his wife Dani, decided to skip it based on the belief that Garrett would take home the hardware. Pittsburgh’s four-time team MVP doesn’t appear in the public eye often, but sat down for a lunch with Dan “Big Cat” Katz, PFT Commenter, and Steelers’ fanatic Jersey Jerry, for lunch recently.

Jerry, in a biased tone, brought up the topic when he mentioned that Garrett set the stage for “almost” sacking the quarterback. For reference, the Cleveland Browns’ defender was able to take down a signal-caller 14 times, while Watt led the league with 19 sacks. Watt was very clear in his observation about the voting process when it comes to the league’s best defensive player.

“It’s just that the voting; I just want more clarity on how it all comes about,” Watt declared.

The list of which members within the football community vote for the big awards is not a secret. Watt has a point, though. He led Garrett in pretty much every statistical category and both teams went to the playoffs. Is a random analytic conversation regarding a pass-rush-win-rate truly the determining factor when it comes to who gets a prestigious award?

Watt’s issue isn’t with guys like Garrett, Micah Parsons, Maxx Crosby, or any other player who could have made himself a case to win the award after the 2023 season. He wanted to clarify that he has nothing against any of the guys that were worthy to be in the conversation.

‘I don’t have a problem with any players. Everyone’s phenomenal and I always… they’re great players. Don’t get me wrong.”

The edge rusher has been nothing short of incredible since he was drafted in the first round by the Steelers in 2017. While Garrett was selected first overall the same year, Watt has undoubtedly had the better career to this point. If someone had to choose one of them to be inducted into the Hall of Fame one day, Watt would be the easy answer (as of right now).

Steelers Need To Capitalize On Watt’s Prime

As shocking as it may sound, Watt has never won a playoff game. It’s clear that he is upset when it comes to a lack of voting clarity for awards he has been deserving of winning. On top of that, the star hasn’t even been able to enjoy a postseason victory. He doesn’t often say too much in terms of the media landscape, but his comments to the fellas at Barstool Sports surely prove that he is using another DPOY snub as motivation going forward. Steeler Nation is aware and fully believes that he is the best defensive player on the entire planet.