Outside of earning a Super Bowl ring, winning a prestigious NFL award is the highest accomplishment an individual player can achieve. Of roughly 1,700 rostered players during the NFL season, only one player gets to take home the MVP award. In fact, despite Pittsburgh's legendary history, Terry Bradshaw was the only player to ever earn this honor in 1978.
While MVP most frequently goes to the league's best quarterback, there are notable awards players at most positions can shoot for. T.J. Watt, for instance, was the Defensive Player of the Year award winner in 2021, and he finished in the top three in DPOY voting on three separate occasions.
Considering the tiny number of league awards, voted on by the Associated Press, it's unlikely that a single Steelers player comes away with one this season. However, here are Pittsburgh's players with the best shot of earning each major NFL award in this season.
Steelers player most likely to win each major NFL award in 2024
Most Valuable Player: T.J. Watt
The MVP award has gone to a quarterback for 11 straight seasons. In fact, since 2007, just one non-QB earned the Most Valuable Player Award (running back Adrian Peterson). History would suggest Russell Wilson or Justin Fields would have the best shot at earning the MVP award, but not the eye test.
Though it's been ages since a defensive player brought home the NFL MVP award (Lawrence Taylor in 1986, to be exact), T.J. Watt is far and away the best player on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster and has already led the league in sacks three times -- tying the all-time single-season sack record in 2021. Watt is a massive underdog for each award, but he still has a better shot than quarterbacks like Wilson and Fields (neither of which may start a full season).
Offensive Player of the Year: George Pickens
Over the years, the Offensive Player of the Year award has been split fairly evenly between running backs, quarterback, and wide receivers. Since becoming an official AP award in 1972, an offensive lineman has never won OPOY (which rules out players like Broderick Jones, Isaac Seumalo, or Troy Fautanu).
Theoretically, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren would each have a shot if they were the lone workhorse back, but these running backs will cut into each other's raw numbers. The same can be said for Wilson and Fields at quarterback. This means that George Pickens is the most likely Steeler to come away with the OPOY award.
Pickens recorded 1,140 yards and five touchdowns as a 22-year-old last season while leading the league in yards per reception (18.1) and being among the league leaders in yards per target (10.8). He did all of this with Matt Canada calling plays and a trio of underwhelming quarterbacks throwing him the football.
Defensive Player of the Year: T.J. Watt
No lengthy explanation is needed here. While there's a chance safety Minkah Fitzpatrick could be a longshot Defensive Player of the Year candidate if he leads the league in interceptions and takes a few picks back to the house, this award is likely to go to an immensely talented edge rusher.
Myles Garrett is the reigning DPOY, but Watt finished second in AP voting for this award. Knowing his reputation and that he already has one Defensive Player of the Year in the bag, he can do it again -- even at 30 years old. There's no contest here.
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Roman Wilson
There's almost no chance that the Offensive Rookie of the Year is a third-round wide receiver who missed much of training camp with an ankle injury on a team that plans to run the ball frequently, but what choice do we have here?
Considering this award has never gone to an offensive lineman, Roman Wilson is the only option to be in contention for this. With immensely talented rookie quarterbacks this year and rookie receivers like Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers -- who are sure to be peppered with targets -- Wilson's odds of winning the OROY award is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Payton Wilson
Even though he's projected to split snaps with Patrick Queen and Elandon Roberts at linebacker, there's a much greater chance Payton Wilson wins the Defensive Rookie of the Year award than Roman Wilson bringing home the OROY award. The All-American linebacker was arguably the best at his position in college football, but a scary injury history (and a lack of an ACL in one knee) caused him to slip in the draft.
Wilson is projected to be a subpackage linebacker, and his role as a rookie could be even smaller than expected if Cole Holcomb returns from a knee injury. However, he's a splashy player who can take the ball away and make plays behind the line of scrimmage. If he can make the most of his opportunities, DROY isn't out of the question.
Comeback Player of the Year: Justin Fields
This award frequently goes to a player who is coming off an injury-plagued season. Between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, the latter missed more time last year; thus, he's a better candidate for this award.
First, Fields would need to win the starting quarterback job. If he can do that early in the 2024 season and string together an impressive run to close the year and help Pittsburgh to a playoff berth, that may be enough to put his name in contention.
Of course, Fields would still be a long shot as players like Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins are returning to the field from Achilles injuries in 2023.