3 reasons why T.J. Watt is the rightful Defensive Player of the Year in 2020
By Tommy Jaggi
Watt makes the Steelers defense; not the other way around
I have actually heard some people argue that the Steelers defense had made T.J. Watt into the player he is. Nothing could be further from the truth. While I’m sure Watt enjoys playing on a team that aggressively gets after the quarterback, you’re kidding yourself if think he wouldn’t be a great player in any other organization.
Remember, this is the same player who tested as a 95th percentile athlete coming out of college, and has some thoroughly impressive family bloodlines. To think that he is performing this well because of the Steelers defensive scheme and not because he’s just a terrific football player is absurd.
Compare him to Bud Dupree for a moment. While Dupree was shaping up to be a fine pick for the Steelers, it’s clear that T.J. Watt is the superior football player in basically every facet of the game. If you recall, Pittsburgh’s defense was really just average a few years back. But thanks to the emergence of Watt, this unit could stay atop the league for quite some time.
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Watt already might be the best edge defender the Steelers have ever had, and it would take some serious injuries to prevent him from being a future Hall-of-Famer. T.J. Watt has been terrific all season long, and he is deserving of earning the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020.