How T.J. Watt Compares to Previous Defensive Player of the Year Winners

Hindsight is always undefeated, isn't it?

Perhaps if NFL teams knew the player outside linebacker T.J. Watt would grow to be, he might not have slid to the 30th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Watt, who many thought benefited from his last name and one year of production, was over-looked by nearly the entire league before the Steelers pulled the trigger at the end of the first round.

Two games shy of completion of his third season, the Steelers have witnessed Watt develop into one of the league's best pass-rushers. 2019 has indeed been a superb year for Watt, as he became the first player in franchise history to accrue back to back 13 sack seasons.

Watt also made the 2019 Pro Bowl, the second straight season Watt has earned the honor. Needless to say, Watt is among the best the current players to wear black and gold, giving the team it's first true dominant pass-rusher since James Harrison.

With 45 tackles (14 tackles for loss), 13 sacks, seven passes defended, six forced fumbles (three recovered) and two interceptions, Watt finds himself in the conversation for NFL Defensive Player of the Year, an award given to the league's top defensive player. Other players in the running include Shaq Barrett, Nick Bosa, Stephon Gilmore and Aaron Donald.

With two games left, Watt still has time to sharpen his numbers and state his case. Should Watt bring the hardware home, he will become the first player from Pittsburgh to win such honors since Troy Polamalu did it in 2010.

How does Watt's resume stack up with previous winners?

A look through the last five winners, and their numbers compared to Watt's:

2017-2018 Winner: Aaron Donald

There's nothing to really that can capture how truly great Aaron Donald is. Despite seeing numerous double (and triple-teams), Donald is still somehow able to produce numbers at mind-blowing rates. Facing a double-team on nearly 70% of his plays this season, Donald has won nearly 25% of his match-ups during the pass rush (numbers courtesy of Seth Walder).

For his 2017/2018 campaigns, Donald was simply unstoppable.

2018 numbers: 59 tackles (25 for loss), 20.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumbles recovered and one pass defended.

2017 numbers: 41 tackles (15 for loss), 11 sacks, five forced fumbles, one fumble recovered and one pass defended.

Watt has already eclipsed a majority of Donald's 2017 totals, and will need one tackle for loss/two fumbles recovered to officially match Donald's 2017 totals. 2018, however, presents itself as a bigger challenge, as Watt will likely not eclipse Donald's eye-opening 20.5 sacks with just two games left.

2016 Winner: Khalil Mack

Before eventually being traded to the Chicago Bears, Khalil Mack was undoubtedly one of the most intimidating players in the league. Not that Mack doesn't still hold that title, but his days in Oakland were indeed dominant enough to make any second-stint tough to replicate.

As the most recent "edge" rusher to win the award, Mack's resume does not disappoint, and one could argue his overall numbers are better than Donald's.

2016 numbers: 73 tackles (14 for loss), 11 sacks, five forced fumbles, three fumbles recovered, three passes defended, one interception and one defensive touchdown.

Aside from total tackles, Watt's resume compares fairly nice to Mack's with higher sack and turnover totals.

2014-2015 Winner: J.J. Watt

Ah yes, we've reached this portion of the program. Did you know T.J. Watt is the younger brother of J.J. Watt?

Back when there was only one dominant Watt in the league (This isn't a shot at you, Derek), J.J. was arguably the face of the NFL with his monster statistics and even better charisma on/off the field. Watt's done a significant amount of work off the field, but there's no denying what a healthy J.J. Watt is able to accomplish.

2015 numbers: 76 tackles (29 for loss), 17.5 sacks, eight passes defended, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovered.

2014 numbers: 78 tackles (29 for loss), 20.5 sacks, 10 passes defended, five fumbles recovered, four forced fumbles, two defensive touchdowns and one interception.

One is prone to forget the near-immaculate stretch J.J. saw during the first four/five years of his career. Not to say his older brother's numbers are untouchable, but T.J. is in for the finish of a lifetime if he's to match his brother's numbers in either season.

Watt vs Averaged Numbers

Every NFL season presents it's different challenges, and thus, there rests no true standard for winning awards. Winning Defensive Player of the Year is no exception. When compiling and averaging the statistics of the last five winners, Watt compares as followed:

Average: 65 tackles (22.4 for loss), 16 sacks, 4.6 passes defended, 4.2 forced fumbles, 2.4 fumbles recovered, 0.4 interceptions and 0.6 touchdowns.

Watt: 45 tackles (14 for loss), 13 sacks, seven passes defended, six forced fumbles, three fumbles recovered and two interceptions.

With two games left to play, Watt needs just 20 tackles and three sacks to match the "average" defensive MVP-like season. Watt has already surpassed averages for forced fumbles, fumbles recovered, passes defended and interceptions.

Is Watt Next to Receive DPOTY?

That's a tough call, especially in a year where many other defenders are having such great seasons as well. While Watt doesn't lead the league in major category, he does find himself with a more balanced resume than other candidates.

Will voters favor a well-balanced season or domination-filled category? While that remains to be seen, T.J. Watt certainly has the numbers to make the case for himself.