Myles Garrett winning NFL Defensive Player of the Year sparks debate

There’s some saltiness going around as it relates to Browns defensive end Myles Garrett being named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year at Thursday night’s NFL Honors soiree.

Browns fans may revel in the fact that salt is coming from the southeast from an NFL town called Pittsburgh where they had a legitimate candidate for the award in T.J. Watt, who led the league in sacks. Watt, who won the award in 2021, has every right to be disappointed. I don’t know if taking to social media to seemingly air grievances is a way to handle it:

And of course, there were plenty of the Steelers faithful who agreed with him:

And as is to be expected, Browns fans clapped back defending Garrett’s winning of the award:

It is a no-win situation and completely subjective. The Watt defenders want to have pure numbers dictate whether anyone can win awards. If that were the only metric, then sure give it to Watt.

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But intangibles exist in life – and especially in football, a sport where stats can’t measure every aspect of the game, including, for instance, the effect that a player has on an opposing team’s game plan. Or the fact that Garrett consistently has two or three bodies coming at him in any given situation.

If football were purely a stats game, the Pro Football Hall of Fame just down the road in Canton would not have any offensive linemen in it. There are some things that just cannot be measured in the game.

Garrett earned the award with sometimes otherworldly play this season and the fact that he puts fear into opposing offenses. If his career trajectory remains the same, he will find himself in Canton.

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More: ‘Myles Garrett’s that guy’: John Randle views Browns star as NFL Defensive Player of Year

And give him his due. From the moment he arrived in the NFL he stated that his goal was to win defensive player of the year, something that some took him to task.

Mission accomplished and he shared that glory with Browns fans and set his sights on yet another goal in his acceptance speech.

“It’s been a blessing,” Garrett said after receiving the award. “And to the city of Cleveland, this one’s for you. We’re going to bring home something bigger next time.”

I wouldn’t bet against him.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Myles Garrett winning NFL Defensive Player of the Year sparks debate