After a historic 2021 season, Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt has been named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
The 27-year-old beat out Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams, Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys and Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns for the award.
In a season when the Steelers offense struggled to do anything consistently, Watt was the one stabilizing force on the defense. He played a key role in their surprise run to the postseason.
The Wisconsin product tied Michael Strahan's NFL record with 22.5 sacks during the regular season. His 21 quarterback hits were tied with Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers for most in the NFL.