Former coach Wade Phillips puts J.J. Watt in class with Reggie White, Bruce Smith

J.J. Watt appears to be leaving the NFL sooner rather than later, and his latest announcement has brought on a tidal wave of reaction as well as discussion about his place amongst the all-time best defenders in NFL history.

Watt deserves all the praise he'll get, but only a few will be more spot-on than the thoughts of someone who actually coached him: Former NFL head coach and well-respected defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.

In fact, Phillips believes Watt is amongst the best of the best (he's not wrong), and he has had plenty of experience coaching elite defenders.

Phillips told Mark Berman of Fox 26 that Watt's NFL talent and career are right there amongst the best of the best players he's coached. That's a list that includes Hall of Famers Reggie White and Bruce Smith along with nine-time Pro Bowler and three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald.

"He’s a Hall of Fame player. It’s hard to say one’s that much better than the other. During his era, he [was] a three-time Defensive Player of the Year. How great is that?" Phillips said of Watt. "I thought he was the best player in the league his first year towards the end of the season and he maintained that for a lot of years. I'm happy for his success and that he could step away from it and feel good."