It’s finally happened. Pittsburgh Steelers OLB TJ Watt has been named the AP’s 2021 Defensive Player of the Year as announced during this year’s NFL Honors that took place Thursday night. Watt beat out Rams’ DT Aaron Donald and Cowboys’ LB Micah Parsons to take home the hardware in a season well-deserved of football’s top defensive honor.
Watt finished the season tying Michael Strahan’s official sack record with 22.5 of them in 2021. He hit that mark despite missing two full games and halves of two others. On the year, Watt finished his fifth season with 64 total tackles, those 22.