T.J. Watt reached a legendary milestone in Week 5. On a Sunday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys that carried on until the early hours of Monday morning, the Steelers star became the second-fastest player in NFL history to reach 100 career sacks.
Watt can add another bullet point to his future Hall of Fame resume. Five games through the 2024 season, Watt is proving that he still has the makings of an elite defensive player and he's been the most frequently chipped pass rusher in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
But what does this mean for his Defensive Player of the Year odds?
Entering Week 6, Watt trails only one player in this department: budding superstar Aidan Hutchinson. The Lions' star pass rusher currently has +250 odds to earn the DPOY award this year, with Watt trailing at +350 odds, courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
T.J. Watt is in the thick of the DPOY race
We are more than a quarter of the way through the season, but Watt is still in the thick of things in the DPOY race. Though the All-Pro edge rusher has finished in the top three in Defensive Player of the Year voting four times in his career, what must he do to secure the award this time around?
For starters, more raw production needs to come. After getting robbed of two strip-sacks in Week 1, Watt is only on the pace for 15 sacks in 2024. While this is an impressive number for nearly any pass rusher in the league, Watt came up short in DPOY voting with 19.0 sacks after an excellent year last season.
Beyond this, Watt must be aided by his defensive teammates. If the Steelers finish as one of the top defensive units in the league by the end of the year, it could go a long way with Associated Press voters in this award.
Watt is already earning phenomenal PFF grades and his run defense has been outstanding. However, the 2021 DPOY is just 9th in the NFL in sacks entering Week 6. Meanwhile, Aidan Hutchinson leads the league in this category with 6.5 in just 4 games. This puts him on an outrageous pace of 27.5 sacks on the season.
It's unreasonable to think that Hutchison will be able to keep up the sack production at this rate, and we know Watt's numbers will come in due time. This Defensive Player of the Year race is far from over, and if T.J. Watt can stay healthy, he'll have a great shot at earning his second DPOY award.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.