Steelers' Mike Tomlin praises T.J. Watt amid Myles Garrett hype

Some already view Cleveland Browns All-Pro pass-rusher Myles Garrett as the uncrowned Defensive Player of the Year for the ongoing season, but Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin suggested during a Tuesday news conference that Pittsburgh star linebacker T.J. Watt should earn that honor for the second time in three years. 

"Not only for the defense but for our football team," Tomlin said about what Watt offers the 7-4 Steelers, according to Dale Lolley and Teresa Varley of the club's website. "There is a lot to learn from him in terms of how he goes about his business, how he works to maximize his talent level. What he does to maintain a level of production. Let's be honest. T.J. is the best defensive player on the planet right now. And he proves that week in and week out with the plays that he delivers us."

After the Browns won five of six games this fall, some in the NFL community were mentioning Garrett as a possible Most Valuable Player candidate. That was before he hurt his shoulder in this past Sunday's loss at the Denver Broncos and before Watt grabbed a share of the league lead in sacks for the campaign (13.5). 

"I see the lengths that people go through to minimize his impact on the game," Tomlin added about Watt during his comments. "I know the type of games that we've been in close ball games and you know how, at times it minimizes a guy that plays his position's ability to impact the game. None of those things slow down that train that we all know what's coming. And so we're just appreciative of it."

Lolley and Varley noted Watt has thus far accumulated 21.5 sacks, 48 quarterback hits and nine forced fumbles across 29 career December games. Such stats could give the 2-10 Arizona Cardinals nightmares as they prepare to play at Pittsburgh this coming Sunday. 

As of early Wednesday afternoon, oddschecker listed Garrett as the betting favorite at +160 odds to win DPOY. Watt was at +300 at that time but could pull closer to Garrett in the race via a stellar performance at Acrisure Stadium on the first Sunday of December.