GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Oh, cool. They drafted J.J.’s younger brother.
That was my thought back in 2017 upon hearing the Steelers had selected T.J. Watt in the first round of the NFL Draft. I hadn’t known much about him. Upon checking, he’d had a fine senior year at Wisconsin, but he’d also been converted from tight end to linebacker there, and he’d endured a series of injuries.
Some scouting services tagged him with a second-round grade, and Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin took him 30th overall, so it was reasonable to suggest they’d reached, right?
And then, T.J. showed up on the South Side the next day, carrying a chip on his shoulder that more than compensated for the size difference between him and J.J. Facing a roomful of us from the podium, he spoke this: “I’m not satisfied just to be here. I’m chasing greatness.”
Well, guess what?
He’s caught it.
He took off right away as a rookie, elevated further as a sophomore, and it’s hardly anyone’s reach to rate him right now as the league’s very best defensive player in 2019:
• 41 total tackles
• 12.5 sacks
• 28 quarterback hits
• 12 tackles for a loss
• 2 interceptions
• 6 passes defended
• 5 forced fumbles
• 3 fumble recoveries
“That’s DPOY right there,” Bud Dupree told me here, motioning toward his bookend partner’s stall. “D-P-O-Y.”
That's it: Defensive Player of the Year.
Watt's the NFL's first player with at least 10 sacks and at least two picks since Terrell Suggs in 2011.
No one else right now is close to this. The Buccaneers' Shaquil Barrett has 15 sacks, the Cardinals' Chandler Jones 14, and each has six forced fumbles, but neither has the other figures. On picks alone, Minkah Fitzpatrick's tied for the league lead with five, Joe Haden's right behind with four, and suffice it to say both of those gentlemen would enthusiastically concede Watt's the premier performer on their own defense.
Aaron Donald?
He's got 11 sacks, a league-leading 21 tackles for loss and the richly deserved MVP pedigree. But the fact is he's being engulfed by double-, even triple-teams, as we witnessed here ourselves at Heinz Field when Mike Tomlin carved up a gimmick O-line structure to neutralize him. Drawing extra attention comes with its own value, but it tends not to lead to awards.
Watt's winning in the subjective world of player grading, too, ranking No. 1 among Pro Football Focus' edge rushers, ahead of the Jaguars' Calais Campbell, the Seahawks' Jadeveon Clowney and, um, J.J.
And on top of all of Watt’s statistics, there’s the golden intangible of being the best player on a team having a storybook season. That earns respect, but also recognition.
Not that he cares. I mean at all.
"I'm here to win games," he told me. "I'll do whatever's needed to help make that happen."
• Funny but, for as much as the AFC North was being denigrated not so long ago, it could produce the conference’s top seed, its top wild card and, oh, yeah both of the NFL’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.
• On that note, there’s zero chance Lamar Jackson will face the Steelers in the regular-season finale in Baltimore, assuming the Ravens lock up the top seed by then. John Harbaugh will hold his nose if that helps the archrival in any way, but it’d be insane to risk an injury in that setting. Especially against a defense that gets after the quarterback like this one.
• There should be no rush to bring James Conner back. In the one game of the past five that he tried to play, his five carries showed him to be shying away from physical contact. He won’t help anyone if he isn’t pounding to the inside.
• A name no one mentions: Steven Nelson. And as a man-to-man corner who seldom needs or receives any help, that’s saying something. What a find.
• Another name no one mentions, at least not anymore: Chris Boswell. Presumably because all he does is ace every kick, now converting at 92.9 percent, fifth-best in the NFL, including 8 of 10 from 40-plus yards. Tomlin and Colbert deserve a little love for standing by him, too. Particularly after Art Rooney II basically blamed him for how 2018 turned out, it’d have been convenient — albeit expensive — to cut ties.
• Repeating, this time with emphasis: Tomlin didn’t call for a fake punt. Yes, I know what he told me. But I also learned plenty enough to see that Jordan Berry was the only player on the field presuming the fake. Anyone still freaking on the coach over this, after reading all that information, flat-out hates the guy. And there are countless people in that category who, even this season, can’t wait for the next slip-up, real or perceived.
• He’ll be the NFL’s Coach of the Year. And he’ll have richly deserved it.
• Heck, Colbert could be Executive of the Year for the Minkah trade alone, never mind amassing the defense and the overall depth that’s helped make this improbable run happen.
• No, Colbert’s not going anywhere. Stop that.
• Imagine feeling the need to cheat to prepare for the Bengals. And you know, if it weren't the Patriots, I wouldn't believe it for a split-second. But given precedent, let the burden of proof point to Foxborough.
• It's popular to bury Matt Murray at the moment, but I won't do that. The Penguins have three home games this week, followed by three in Western Canada. He should get one of these three home games, then the trip finale in Vancouver, the latter coming less than 24 hours after the game in Edmonton.
Sure, the points are important now. But getting Murray right again is equally important, and that won't happen by planting him in a folding chair. He'll need to fight his way through this.
Oh, and if there's any trait he's shown above all over the course of his career, it's that he's at his best when fighting back.
• One narrative that's been blown to bits through the Penguins' many injuries is that Jake Guentzel needs Sidney Crosby to produce: In the 14 games since Sid went down, Guentzel's piled up nine goals, nine assists and a plus-7 rating. And to suggest he's now simply leaning on Evgeni Malkin would be equally unfair. He's creating his own offense, and he's doing so in countless ways.
What a hockey player he's become. Not to be taken for granted.
• If Jim Rutherford can scrounge up nothing more than freed-up cap space by trading Alex Galchenyuk, I'm all in favor.
He's making $4.9 million in the final year of his contract, so the prorated savings at one-third of the way through the season would be roughly $3.25 million. So the way to think about this isn't in the present but more toward the NHL trade deadline, when that space could really come in handy in addressing a hard need.
Of equal urgency: This player doesn't fit here. That had been an obvious concern at the time of the trade, and that's how it's unfolded. As Taylor Haase described it Saturday night from Detroit, he doesn't have a fourth-line skill set, but he also hasn't done anything to deserve being in the top six. Even with all these injuries.
Move him. Reallocate.
• I can conjure up a lot of areas of concern for the Penguins, but the power play isn't one of them. Sure, it'd be nice if they could pop a couple occasionally, but this is a problem that'll play itself out over time, particularly when Crosby and Patric Hornqvist return. Too much talent at hand.
• Gary Bettman and the NHL have reacted aggressively to the Bill Peters fiasco, culminating in his stunningly blunt statement yesterday in Pebble Beach, Calif. at the league's Board of Governors meeting. That's worthy of applause in and of itself, as coach abuse occurs at all levels of every sport, not just hockey.
At the same time, I fear that the singular targeting on coaching is misguided and could lead to all kinds of bogus accusations that'll be believed without confirmation. I'd feel a lot better about all of this if the targeting were on abuse/bullying/slurring from anyone, not just coaches.
• Among the most significant decisions the Pirates need to make this offseason -- and this'll likely be a joint one between Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton -- is how to handle Adam Frazier.
In my eyes, he's the starting second baseman. In someone else's eyes, the team might be better off finding a way to deploy Kevin Newman and Cole Tucker, the former being the most promising middle-infield bat, the latter the most promising middle-infield glove.
I'll stubbornly stick by a stance that there's more consistency to be found in Frazier's bat than his already-decent .279/.342/.420 slash line has shown. He's streaky/slumpy to a fault, and such players really can be pushed toward the positive. When he's emerged from a slump, as he's told me many times, it's been because of a simple mechanical hitch, usually with his hands. It hasn't been a lack of talent or lack of confidence.
Also, he isn't exactly old. He turns 29 next week.
His greatest shortcoming was supposed to be his defense at second, and he worked hard enough to become a surprising Gold Glove finalist in 2019. The advanced metrics might not support that cause as vociferously, but the improvement is undeniable.
Let him play. And let Tucker hit his way into the Pittsburgh lineup.
• There's nothing dumber than big-time free-agent spending on a roster that isn't ready for it. That's what the Reds have been doing for two decades, and they might be doing it again with the bankrolling of Mike Moustakas from Milwaukee. Anyone who's convinced in Cincinnati that they're a player or two away from contending is out of their minds.
The day will come to gauge what the Pirates do per their payroll or, specifically, free-agent spending. This isn't that day. This isn't that year. There's a new GM and, hopefully, a new approach to a lot of elements within baseball operations. Adding young talent, including in the minors, absolutely must be the top priority.
Let the Reds win the December talk shows on ... um, WKRP, I guess.
• Anyone else finding all of Cherington's retentions off-putting?
He absolutely deserves the benefit of the doubt, but man, it gets harder and harder to accept real change with all the same people.
• Offseason wish list: A starting catcher, a starting pitcher and two or three legit prospects. Pull that off with a Starling Marte trade and whatever else it takes, and it's a superb beginning.
• To think, I made it this far without mentioning Duck.