PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers superstar T.J. Watt didn’t walk away with the Defensive Player of the Year Award, despite leading the NFL in sacks and finishing ahead of the winner, Myles Garrett, in nearly every statistical category. Since then, one of the finalists, Dallas Cowboys’ Micah Parsons, has made it known he didn’t believe Watt should have one. And to continue his rant against the Steelers edge rusher, he is now doubling down, saying Watt isn’t a top-five pass rusher in the league. “I think I’m probably the best pure speed pass rusher,” Parsons told CBS Radio. “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.”
For what it’s worth, Parsons isn’t wrong. Alex Highsmith finished with an 18% pass rush win rate compared to Watt’s 16.9%, according to Pro Football Focus. Still, for those looking at the stats in the box chart, Watt’s season was impressive – and finished by hitting a historic mark by leading the league in sacks for a third time. Make sure you bookmark All Steelers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
