The honors keep rolling in for linebacker T.J. Watt, who was voted to The Sporting News NFL All-Pro team.
What sets this honor apart from others is The Sporting News team is selected by the NFL's 32 head coaches.
"T.J., you can't think of another guy that impacts the game more," said Houston Texans Coach DeMeco Ryans prior to the Steelers-Texans game in 2023. "He is probably the most impactful defensive player in the league right now.
"When you have one guy who can pressure and disrupt the quarterback, it just changes the entire scheme of things defensively. You don't have to blitz as much because you have a guy like T.J. Watt. When T.J. Watt gets help from a guy like (Alex) Highsmith, it's almost unfair. T.J. is impressive."
Watt, who is a finalist for the Associate Press Defensive Player of the Year, was already selected as the 101 Awards AFC Defensive Player of the Year for 2023, the third time in his career he won the honor. He previously won the honor in 2020 and 2021.
Watt was also named to the Pro Football Writers of America All-NFL and All-AFC teams and is a First Team Associated Press All-Pro for the fourth time in his career.
"You could make the argument he is the best player on defense in the world and you wouldn't get a rebuttal from me when you watch the tape," said Arizona Cardinals Coach Jonathan Gannon during the 2023 season. "Just what he does in the run game and in the pass game in affecting the quarterback and the ball. He's very ball aware. He's a high takeaway guy.
"They drop him, and he makes interceptions. He's all over the field and plays with a super high motor."
Watt led the NFL in sacks in 2023 with 19, the second highest of his career, and it's the third time he has led the league in that category, also doing so in 2020 and 2021. He is the only player in NFL history to lead the league in sacks three times. Watt also became the seventh player since 1982 with at least 17 sacks in two of his first seven seasons.
Watt was already selected to the Pro Bowl Games for the fifth time in his career, although he won't take part because of his end of season injury, and was voted the Steelers 2023 MVP, the fourth time in his career he won that honor.
Watt broke the Steelers all-time sack record during the 2023 season when he recorded his 81.5 career sack against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 of the season, breaking the record set by James Harrison.
Watt currently holds the Steelers record with 96.5 career sacks, which is third-most in NFL history by a player in their first seven seasons in the NFL.
The success Watt has isn't something that comes as a surprise to Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin, who thinks that Watt is just wired differently.
"Some people watch tape, some people study tape. And there's a difference," said Tomlin. "However you describe the spectrum, T.J. is on the extreme end of it from a preparedness standpoint. And that's one of the reasons why you get the production that you get from him beyond his freakish talent.
"He was always like that in mentality. I think the level of productivity from that endeavor grows with his experience, it gets more pointed, he wastes less time. I could just tell by the dialogue that he and I have and how it has matured over the years that his process is being honed to a fine edge."
