Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has been named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year at the NFL Honors show Saturday evening. The voting was unanimous in his favor, the first time that's ever happened. The award is given to the best defensive player each season, and for the second time in his career, the honor went to Watt. He also took home the award in 2012.
J.J. Watt wins AP Defensive Player of the Year
J.J. Watt is your defensive player of the year, to the surprise of nobody.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Watt certainly did enough this season to state his case as the most outstanding defensive player in the league. Many even argued he was the best player in the league, period. Not only did he finish second in the NFL in the sack race, first in fumble recoveries and third in forced fumbles, but Watt also had an interception and multiple touchdowns on the offensive side of the ball. Some may view Watt coming in on offense as something of a gimmick, but he managed to put up three touchdowns on that side of the ball, in addition to two defensive touchdowns and a safety.
That’s 32 points Watt accounted for on his own, not counting extra points. For the season, he tied a career high with 20.5 sacks to go along with the 78 total tackles and 10 passes defensed. He does everything that is expected of an NFL defensive end -- and more -- and he’s done it at a high level.
Although Watt was considered the runaway favorite for Defensive Player of the Year, there were a few other players worth mentioning. While the media focused on Watt for much of the season, and whether he'd break the single-season sack record, Justin Houston was having what must have been the quietest 22-sack season one could have. He led the league in sacks and was incredible against the run, but Watt was a lot more dynamic and came up just short of having the sack record himself.
Other defensive players like Richard Sherman and Darrelle Revis deserve mention for their play in the secondary. As defensive backs, they're made all the more impressive by the fact that NFL receivers seem to be getting bigger, faster and better every single year. But Sherman and Revis continue to handle their business and remain shutdown corners.
Watt was on another level, though, and was making plays every single time he took the field. There were very few arguments against Watt winning this award, and only a couple more against him winning league MVP overall.
See More:
