Myles Garrett's Defensive Player of the Year win also win for analytics

Cleveland Browns edge-rusher Myles Garrett narrowly beat Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt to win the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. It is not only a win for Garrett, it is also a win for the folks that take an extremely analytical approach to the game.

Especially websites like Pro Football Focus.

There is no denying that Garrett had a sensational season as part of one of the NFL's best defenses. But what stands out most about the voting is that Garrett didn't have the most dominant season statistically. At least not when it comes to the more traditional counting stats football fans are most accustomed to. 

Watt actually finished the season with more tackles, tackles for loss, quarterback hits, sacks and forced fumbles, and even added a touchdown. In years past that sort of performance would have made him a slam dunk winner for the DPOY. 

But what made Garrett stand out in the eyes of the voters is that he was the far more dominant player when it came to several advanced metrics, specifically his pass-rush win rate as measured by PFF. Garrett was consistently one of the highest rated defenders by PFF's analytics for his ability to consistently beat the people trying to block him.

It didn't always result in sacks or getting to the quarterback, but it certainly drove the discussion around Garrett's season.

Garrett also routinely drew double teams and played through injury over the final seven weeks of the season.

Over the past decade the way we evaluate games and players has dramatically changed with an avalanche of new information. Whether or not that is for the better probably depends on how much stock you put into those numbers (and what team you support).

In the argument of Garrett vs. Watt, both players were fantastic. They were both, at worst, among the three best defensive players in football. They also dominated in very different categories. Watt owned the traditional numbers and led the league in sacks for the third time. Garrett dominated in the hidden numbers that don't always get major mainstream attention. His win of the award this season is probably going to change that, and perhaps permanently change how we think about awards and defensive performance.