Myles Garrett Wins PFWA DPOY Award, Beating Out T.J. Watt

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett has been named the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America, the organization announced on Wednesday.

Garrett is a first-time winner of the award, and is the first member of the Browns to win the award, which has been given out annually since 1992.

He beat out of Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who won it in 2021, despite Watt leading the NFL with 19 sacks, compared to Garrett’s 14. Watt maintained a consistent statistical advantage across the board, when compared to his AFC North rival.

Watt had 68 tackles, compared to Garrett’s 42. Watt had 19 tackles for loss compared to Garrett’s 17. Watt had 36 quarterback hits compare to 30 for Garrett. Each had four forced fumbles, but Watt had three recoveries compared to Garrett’s one. Watt also returned one of those fumbles for the only defensive touchdown of the season between the two players, which happened to be the game-sealing play in the Week 2 game between the Steelers and Browns at Acrisure Stadium.

Watt also dropped into coverage far more than Garrett, breaking up eight passes and snagging an interception that he returned inside the 10-yard line to set up a Steelers touchdown. Garrett had three passes defended.

Where Garrett excelled was in advanced pass-rush metics peddled by Pro Football Focus and others. PFF graded Garrett as the best edge rusher in the league at 93.6. Watt was fifth at 91.9, behind Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons and Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby.

Most of that grade was attributable to Garrett’s prowess in pass rush win rate, a metric that attempts to calculate how frequently a defensive player beats his opposite number, regardless of whether that makes an impact on the play at hand. Garrett was graded as having a 27.3% win rate, the highest in the league. He was also assigned 60 hurries compared to 47 for Watt.

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 23, 2023. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

The PFWA version of the award is not the most prestigious one. That is handed out at the post-season NFL Honors ceremony, and voted on by a panel of 50 journalists and broadcasters selected by the Associated Press.

PFWA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS

1992 — DT Cortez Kennedy, Seattle Seahawks
1993 — DE Bruce Smith, Buffalo Bills
1994 — CB Deion Sanders, San Francisco 49ers
1995 — LB Bryce Paup, Buffalo Bills
1996 — DE Bruce Smith, Buffalo Bills
1997 — DT Dana Stubblefield, San Francisco 49ers
1998 — DE Reggie White, Green Bay Packers
1999 — DT Warren Sapp, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2000 — LB Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens
2001 — DE Michael Strahan, New York Giants
2002 — LB Derrick Brooks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2003 — LB Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens
2004 — S Ed Reed, Baltimore Ravens
2005 — LB Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears
2006 — DE Jason Taylor, Miami Dolphins
2007 — S Bob Sanders, Indianapolis Colts
2008 — LB James Harrison, Pittsburgh Steelers
2009 — CB Charles Woodson, Green Bay Packers
2010 — LB Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers
2011 — LB Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens
2012 — DE J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
2013 — DE Robert Quinn, St. Louis Rams
2014 — DE J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
2015 — DE J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
2016 — DE Khalil Mack, Oakland Raiders
2017 — DE Calais Campbell, Jacksonville Jaguars
2018 — DT Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
2019 — CB Stephon Gilmore, New England Patriots
2020 — DT Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
2021 – LB T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers
2022 – DE Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
2023 – DE Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns