The NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award was highly contentious, especially after Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt made a curious social media post in the hours ahead of the announcement.
Watt’s post implied that he didn’t win DPOY despite leading the NFL in sacks in 2023 with 19. Another fan compared Watt’s stats to the other top finalists – Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons. The post also speculated that the award voting was rigged in Garrett’s favor, as the Browns defensive end ended up winning.
Parsons didn’t appreciate the slander against his fellow finalist. The Cowboys’ edge rusher posted on X (during the NFL Honors red carpet event, mind you) that Garrett “was the better player” than Parsons and Watt because of how many more double teams he faced in 2023. Parsons also implored fans to “stop looking at stats.”
Horrible take!! Myles was the better player!! Reality of the situation ! Myles Faced way more double teams and affect on qbs! Fans please stop looking at stats and look at film please!! https://t.co/neF8LwtfKk
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) February 9, 2024
For what it’s worth, Parsons led the NFL in double team percentages in 2023, according to ESPN, with Garrett not far behind in second. Garrett also mentioned how often he believed he was held, for which he was fined.
Whichever way you slice it, Parsons believes award voters picked winners based on a combination of film and stats, rather than just pure production.
At the very least, it’s nice to see one defensive player defend another.
