The Pittsburgh Steelers have a future Hall of Fame edge rusher and reigning Defensive Player of the Year in T.J. Watt. The star is coming off a career year that brought him 22.5 sacks, tying Michael Strahan's single-season sack record. He added 64 total tackles, 21 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He was absolutely dominant and recently was voted by his peers as the sixth-best player in the NFL. Watt is entering his prime, yet 25 writers over at the NFL's website voted, and four players garnered more votes and have a better chance to dethrone Watt from repeating.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, TJ Watt (#90) participates in the organized team activities (OTA's), Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. | Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers best defensive player did not just fall behind division foe Myles Garrett in voting, but Aaron Donald, Nick Bosa and Joey Bosa as well. Watt and Derwin James both received one vote in the poll. The recently released rankings are a bit disrespectful to Watt given the fact he has been in the top three since his dominance emerged in the 2019 season.
Another reason the edge rusher receiving almost no love comes as a shock is because he is tied with Donald, having the best odds to win the award heading into the season at +700. Donald, who received five of the 25 votes came in at #2 on the list. He finished third last year behind the Steelers' 2021 Most Valuable Player and Parsons.
The second-year linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys received the most votes and was at the top of the list. His current odds to win the honor for the first time are at +1000.
Watt wasn't the only Steelers player to receive votes from the writers as a rookie wide receiver, George Pickens and quarterback Kenny Pickett were involved in the conversation to potentially win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Given the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh, Pickens had seven votes finishing second only behind New Orleans Saints' wide receiver, Chris Olave.
May 26, 2022; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14) participates in organized team activities at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Pickett, the team's first-round draft choice, would have most likely been at the top of the list if he were in line to start week one versus the Cincinnati Bengals, but it looks like that role will belong to free agent signing, Mitchell Trubisky. Regardless, if Pickett finds his way into the starting lineup early enough, the 21 voters that passed on him will be proven wrong if he performs well. This is typically a quarterback's award after all.
The writers also touched on who could be given the honor of Coach of the Year. Steelers Head Coach, Mike Tomlin made the list, but barely. Tomlin still received more votes than Watt. He had two. The veteran coach has not yet had a losing season since joining the organization back in 2007 and if his team exceeds expectations this year, he could be in the running for more hardware.
Most of the voting is pretty reasonable and can be agreed upon by fans of the franchise. However, Watt only receiving one vote to defend his crown at the league's best defensive player is a bit disrespectful. He has been so consistent throughout the last three seasons and while he may not win in back to back years, he definitely deserves to receive more votes than the Bosa brothers and James.
What are your thoughts on the 2022 award voting by the NFL writers? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
