Mark Madden: Steelers' T.J. Watt deserves Defensive Player of the Year award, but will he win it?

T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers should win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.

Watt should be a lock, in fact.

But Watt has missed two games and parts of three others. That shouldn’t hurt him, but it might. The most basic ability is availability. (It seems Watt doesn’t play unless he’s 100% or very close to it. He sometimes sits a series in the fourth quarter just to catch his breath.)

Despite his absences, Watt has better stats than the other contenders for the award.

Watt, the plus-250 favorite with the sports books, has 17½ sacks. Cleveland’s Myles Garrett (plus-300) has 15. Dallas’ Micah Parsons (plus-350) has 10. The Los Angeles Rams’ Aaron Donald (plus-1,000) has 10. Donald is last year’s winner. (Rounding out the top five favorites for the award is Dallas cornerback Trevon Diggs at plus-800.)

Watt has forced four fumbles. Parsons has forced three, Donald two, Garrett one.

Watt has recovered three fumbles. Garrett has recovered one, Parsons and Donald none.

Watt has played considerably less than his rivals for the award. That makes Watt’s statistics even more impressive.

Watt trails in total tackles: Parsons has 76, Donald 61, Watt 53, Garrett 48.

When Watt plays at least 35 snaps, the Steelers are 7-2. When he doesn’t, they’re 0-4-1. (But “most valuable” isn’t part of the award’s criteria. “Most outstanding” is.)

I don’t think Watt ever truly got robbed in the past. Donald beat him in last season’s voting, 27-20. Donald was a worthy winner, though the Watt family and all of Pittsburgh wet their pants.

It’s fair to say Watt could have won by now, and maybe should have.

Lifetime achievement might figure. Watt finished second last year, third in 2019. That adds up.

Donald has won it three times. If it’s close, Watt should win.

Garrett has never won it. If it’s close, Watt should win.

Parsons is a rookie. Rookies have their own award.

I’m not discounting Diggs, who has an NFL-best 10 interceptions, but it’s difficult to compare cornerbacks to those playing in the front seven.

Watt should win NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

But if he doesn’t, it won’t be a crime. It never has been.

Watt isn’t obviously better than any of those mentioned.

The one way for Watt to lock down the award is to get 5½ more sacks and set the single-season NFL record. He couldn’t possibly be denied then.

The award matters to Watt. I’m not sure it should. Anything that’s voted on shouldn’t.

As Mario Lemieux said, “I judge myself by Stanley Cups and scoring titles. Nobody votes on those.”

Watt was briefly discussed for NFL MVP by media and fans, but that award almost always goes to a quarterback. The last time it didn’t was 2012. The last time before that was 2006. The last time a defensive player won it was Lawrence Taylor in 1986.

With all due respect to Watt, he’s not Taylor.

But Watt is the best defensive player in football. Let’s see if he wins the award that confirms that. I’m leaning in the same direction as the sports books: Watt is favored but hardly a lock.