If you thought T.J. Watt was a shoo-in to earn his fifth First-Team All-Pro honors in 2024, think again. After being the frontrunner for the Defensive Player of the Year award from the start of the season until Week 18, Watt was stripped of the highest recognition by the Associated Press.
One day before the start of Wild Card Weekend, the Associated Press announced their 2024 All-Pro Team. While Steelers' remarkable kicker Chris Boswell and ageless defensive lineman Cameron Heyward both made First-Team All-Pro, Watt was left with Second-Team All-Pro honors.
The two edge rushers who earned First-Team All-Pro honors both came from the AFC North: Myles Garrett and Trey Hendrickson. Garrett has another imposing season despite the Browns' dismal record while Hendrickson led the NFL with 17.5 sacks (thanks a lot, Dan Moore Jr.).
This couldn't have been what Watt was anticipating. Despite being the most frequently chipped pass rusher in the NFL this season, the legendary defender found himself being talked about as an underachieving player in 2024.
Admittedly, Watt had a down season compared to what we are used to seeing from him statistically. In 17 games, the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year recorded 11.5 sacks while also leading the NFL with six forced fumbles and finishing tied for second in tackles for a loss with 19. For what it's worth, Watt had two strip-sacks wiped away this season as they were negated by penalties that had nothing to do with the play.
Steelers fans know T.J. Watt is an All-Pro player
For a player of Watt's reputation, a Second-Team All-Pro almost feels like a slap in the face to the phenomenal career he has had. But his 2024 campaign was much better than the Associated Press gave him credit for.
In addition to drawing unprecedented attention, Watt proved to be a dominant run defender. In fact, this was the first season in Watt's career that the star edge rusher earned a PFF run defense grade over 90.0 and a pass rush grade over 90.0. Collectively, this was the highest overall grade (92.2) he had received from Pro Football Focus in his career.
PFF recognized the attention drawn to Watt and what the superstar dealt with in 2024. Because of this, Pro Football Focus dubbed Watt a First-Team All-Pro player this year. Unfortunately, the NFL doesn't use PFF All-Pros when tracking honors in a player's career, and Watt will have one fewer to add to his resume.
Watt finished third in All-Pro voting among edge defenders—earning 14 first-place votes and 63 total vote points. Joining Watt with Second-Team All-Pro honors are Broncos' Nik Bonitto and Vikings' Andrew Van Ginkel.
Steelers fans know that T.J. Watt was deserving of earning his First-Team All-Pro and continuing down a legendary track, even if he didn't earn this honor from the Associated Press this year.