Steelers star pass rusher T.J. Watt climbing back into DPOY discussion

T.J. Watt has missed time early in the season, but here’s why the Steelers star still deserves real consideration for the Defensive Player of the Year in 2021.

Even before the 2021 season began, fans were wondering how T.J. Watt was going to look this year. Per the advice of his agent, Watt did not participate in training camp practices with his team over the summer and missed the preseason as a result before signing a lucrative new extension making him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL.

Early in the season, however, it didn’t look like the Steelers were going to get their money’s worth in 2021. After a dominant game against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, Watt injured his groin just 16 snaps into his second game of the year against the Raiders. He would not return to the field again until Week 4.

Even with nearly a two-game absence and the fact that the Steelers have already had their bye week, Watt is remarkably still on pace with the best defenders in the NFL. Here’s a stat comparison of some of the top Defensive Player of the Year candidates through the first nine weeks of the season, according to Pro Football Reference:

As you can see, Watt is right in the thick of things. In fact, had he been healthy all season, I see no reason why he wouldn’t be leading in each of these departments.

Should Steelers star be considered the top DPOY candidate?

As of now, Myles Garrett is considered by most to be the top Defensive Player of the Year candidate for the 2021 season, and it’s not hard to see why. The freakish edge defender is having the best season of his NFL career and is on track for some remarkable numbers. However, that doesn’t mean that Watt can’t be considered the top candidate by the end of the season.

Even with his absence, he is just behind Garrett’s statistical pace. In addition, Cleveland has a bye week in Week 13; whereas the Steelers already had their bye. Watt could use that week to catch back up to Garrett’s production pace.

Additionally, injuries are quite unpredictable. We already saw Watt’s odds fall behind when he was injured. The same could happen with Garrett or Aaron Donald if either player is forced to miss time this season.

Obviously, there are so many other factors that go into making a player great, and an assessment of a player should never be made from raw statistics alone. Things like pass-rush and run-stop win rates, player grades, and team defense should be considered as well. However, arguably the biggest factor is the eye test upon reviewing the film — a test that shows just how big of an impact these three players have.

With Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald playing like the best in the business, I’m certainly not going to say that T.J. Watt is in a tier of his own when it comes to defensive players, but he’s very clearly near the top of the league. It will be interesting to see where he finishes in the Defensive Player of the Year race by the end of the season.