Texans DE J.J. Watt disputes Rams’ Aaron Donald as Defensive Player of the Year; supports Steelers’ T.J. Watt

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is pretty biased when it comes to his youngest brother, Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt.

While the youngest of the three Watt boys had a career year with the Steelers in 2020, it wasn’t enough to convince voters, who gave the award to Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, his third career award, tying Lawrence Taylor and the oldest Watt for the most in the NFL history.

J.J. took to Twitter on Saturday night to make the case his brother should have been the Defensive Player of the Year, and made sure to congratulate Donald and underscore he will be a Pro Football Hall of Famer in his own right someday.

“Aaron Donald is an absolutely incredible player,” Watt tweeted. “I love watching him play & he’s headed to the Hall of Fame without question. This has nothing to do with AD personally.

“This is me saying what my brother won’t.

“TJ played 1 less game and STILL led the NFL in every major category.”

Watt posted the statistics side by side with Donald and demonstrated the the one area where Donald had his youngest brother beat was forced fumbles. T.J. produced two while Donald recorded four.

On Nov. 18, Watt told Houston media he was not surprised to see his brother leading the NFL in tackles for loss.

“I know how hard he works,” Watt said. “I know his capabilities. I know what type of player he is. I know what type of defense he’s on. I know what type of team he’s on and I know how relentless he is and how great he is. It doesn’t stand out to me because that’s what I expect to see from him. He’s a phenomenal player. He should absolutely be in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation and he’s doing a great job.”

And that is why Watt is saying what his brother won’t.

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