T.J. Watt and Micah Parsons Are Co-Favorites to Win NFL DPOY

DraftKings Sportsbook has listed Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt and Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons as co-favorites to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year this season.

Watt and Parsons are both at +550 to win DPOY. Watt won the award in 2021, while Parsons has never accomplished the feat, but has finished either second or third in the voting in each of his three NFL seasons.

San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa and Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby have the second-best odds, both at +700. Last year’s winner, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, follows at +800.

Parsons made some buzz earlier this offseason when he stated that Watt wasn’t a top 5 pass rusher.

“I think I’m probably the best pure speed pass rusher,” Parsons told Zach Gelb of CBS Sports. “But if you’re talking about defensive ends, run and everything, but if you’re talking about pure pass rusher, I would say if you look at my win rate, I was the best one this year. So, it would be me. And then I would say Myles, then Maxx, then Nick Bosa, and then I would say — I mean, look at the stats. The stats don’t lie. He was fifth or sixth, but I think Alex Highsmith might have had a better pass rush win rate. And he had a more double team rate than T.J. Watt if you really want to be statistical. Like, this isn’t my stuff. I’m not just pulling it out of my ass.”

Expect the Parsons-Watt story line to come up when the Steelers host the Cowboys in Week 5 on Sunday Night Football.

During his retirement video, Aaron Donald mentioned that Watt has been snubbed for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award a few times. Watt finished second to Donald’s in DPOY voting in 2020, but Donald didn’t claim that he wasn’t deserving of the award over Watt that year. He probably was referring to 2019 and especially this past season when Myles Garrett won DPOY over Watt.

Watt put up better numbers in almost every major statistical category than Garrett in 2023. The Browns star pass rusher edged Watt out in Pro Football Focus’ overall grading and pass rush win rate metric, however. Some voters like Peter King hold that in high regard, hence why he voted for him.

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.

The Steelers’ defensive captain had 19 sacks in 2023 and set a modern NFL record as the first player to lead the league in sacks for a third time since it became an official statistic back in 1982. Deacon Jones of the Los Angeles Rams unofficially led the league in sacks five times in the 1960s.

Aaron Donald thinks Watt’s consistency sets him apart from other talented pass rushers.

“I’m big on you gotta show me more than one or two years,” he said. “[Watt] consistently dominates year in and year out, so that’s a guy I felt like, if anybody, they need to be chasing him. … He’s that guy right now, I think.”

If Watt wins DPOY again he’ll be just the eighth player to win the awards multiple times. He would join his brother J.J. Watt, Lawrence Taylor, Aaron Donald, Mean Joe Greene, Mike Singletary, Bruce Smith, Reggie White and Ray Lewis on the exclusive list. J.J. Watt, Taylor and Donald are the only players to win DPOY three times.