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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/packmanwiscy on 2024-07-12 16:48:45+00:00.
Welcome to ranks 5-1 for the r/NFL Top 100 Players of the 2023 Season!
Players whose average rank landed them in places 5-1 are on this portion of the list revealed today. Players are associated with the team they finished playing for at the end of the 2023 season
Below you will see some write-ups from the community summarizing the players’ 2023 season and why they were among the best in 2023. Stats for each player are included below. Additionally, their ranks from previous years are available for y’all to see
METHODOLOGY
Link to more detailed writeup on our methodology
- Step 1: A Call to Rankers right after the Conference Championship games
- Step 2: Rankers from each team nominated players to rank, with a 11 game minimum threshold. Players are associated with the team they played for in 2023
- Step 3: The Grind. We instructed users to tier positions groups into T25, T50, etc based on 2023 regular season play only. This took several weeks as the rankers tiered each position group and discussed them. There were no individual player threads and no arbitrary position caps. Just questions and rankings.
- Step 4: Users submitted their own personal Top 125 lists.
- Step 5: User lists were reviewed by myself, u/MikeTysonChicken and u/mattkud. The rankers were expected to answer questions about their lists. They were allowed to make any changes to their list, and were not forced to make any changes
- Step 6: The Reveal… where we are now!
And without further ado, here are the players ranked 5-1 in the r/NFL Top 100 Players of the 2023 Season!
#5 - TJ Watt - Pittsburgh Steelers - EDGE Rusher
Accolades
| Accolade | Total | Year |
|---|---|---|
| NFL Pro Bowl | 6 | 2018-23 |
| AP All-Pro 1st Team | 4 | 2019-21, 2023 |
| AP All Pro 2nd Team | 1 | 2019 |
| NFL Defensive Player of the Year | 1 | 2021 |
Previous Ranks
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 3 | 4 | 9 | 72 | N/A |
Written by: u/PraxMatic
Introduction
When TJ Watt won his first DPOY in 2021, he also became the first person to lead the league in sacks in consecutive seasons since Reggie White in 1987-88. This year, he became the first person to lead the league in sacks three times…ever. He did it over the course of just 4 years. TJ Watt’s career in the NFL since his 2017 draft has been relatively straightforward – he gives hell to the Quarterback. Since coming into the league, Watt’s 1st in sacks, Forced Fumbles, and 2nd in TFL. In 2024 he once again displayed greatness with 19 sacks (1st), 4 forced fumbles (T-5th), a fumble TD (T-1st), 19 TFL (5th), and 36 QBHits (1st). Throw in an impressive 8 pass blocks, T-3rd in fumble recoveries among defensive players with 3, and most importantly for Steelers fans started every game in the season for the first time since 2019. This production was, for the 3rd year running, matched with one of the most anemic offenses in the NFL that produced 17.9 points per game (the next-closest playoff team was the 20.5 ppg Buccaneers) that only stayed on the field for as long as it did because Kenny Pickett didn’t throw interceptions (or completions). Despite this, TJ Watt was at or near the top in every common defensive metric, and no other player this year matched his universal pass-rushing achievements. For these efforts, he was awarded his 4th 1st-Team All Pro Selection (in 5 years) and his 6th straight Pro Bowl.
There’s an accolade missing here. Once again, the Defensive Player of the Year Award slipped through his fingers just narrowly, this time to in-division contemporary Myles Garrett. It was close, too – 165 voting points to Watt’s 140. Maybe if Watt had just led by 1 more sack, or 1 more QBHit, or forced 1 more fumble, he’d have it. Contrary to what fans across the aisle would say, it is not glaringly obvious who was better, which was reflected by the close vote counts. But the 2023 DPOY Award is just a stand in for the greater question that haunts the minds of Steelers fans – why should this have only been Watt’s second DPOY?
JJ Watt, older brother of Derek Watt, predictably leads the NFL AP DPOY Shares all-time list at a gargantuan 2.76. He won three AP DPOY awards. Then comes a drop off before Aaron Donald (2.18) and Bruce Smith (2.02) in 2nd and 3rd who won three and two AP DPOY awards, respectively. 5th place Lawrence Taylor (1.97) won three. 6th place Reggie White (1.77) and 7th place Ray Lewis (1.68) both won two. After that, there’s a sharp decline. This list is topped by some of the most decorated defensive players of all time.
Then, in 4th Place among the greatest defensive players in NFL history, TJ Watt (2.00) has…one. He’s massively above any of his contemporary peers, and yet Bosa (0.96), Garrett (0.73), Gilmore (0.42), and Mack (0.46) all match him. Perhaps this is the one instance where Steelers fans and Cowboy fans may commiserate, with poor Parsons (0.86) above many yet having no gold. It feels like a miscount. Unlike Parsons, who has plenty of time to rack up trophies, Watt has already been in the league for 7 seasons. Among the others in the top 7 with a collective 13 DPOY awards, only two were won by players beyond their 7th season (one of which was Ray Lewis in his 8th). Though he was healthy this season, how many years of prime does he realistically have left? Three? Four? Steelers fans have no doubt that Watt will buck this trend, yet it remains bittersweet that Watt has repeatedly been relegated to the bridesmaid. Watt’s own dominance has become his greatest detriment. He seems to suffer the same kinds of voter fatigue that other greats have, without receiving the hardware to be fatigued from. If Watt can’t get another 2021, where he triple-crowned the NFL in QB Hits, TFL, and Sacks like he did in 2021, then he’ll be passed over for another new bride. No one can beat him when it comes to across-the-board countable stats, so instead they just create new ones. What’s PRWR? How do you define a Double Team? What actually counts as a pressure? Do I look like I know what a JPEG is? Advanced statistics surely have a place in modern football analysis, but source to source you could find 3, 4, 5 different answers for every player as to what their numbers in these stats actually are. Is there more to edge rushing than sacks, QB hits, TFLs, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, and passes defended? Yes. Does everyone actually agree on what they are and how properly to measure them? Probably not.
2023 Season
Now that the melodramatic soliloquy on how I don’t understand the modern world is over, I can spend the rest of my brief portion to show you why TJ was so good beyond just a PFR page. This image from the Titans game this year is the best way I can show you how much NFL offenses fear him. That is a chip from TE Chigoziem Okonkwo into T Nicholas Petit-Frere(?) and another obstruction into route-running RB Tyjae Spears. For all intents and purposes, this is a ‘soft’ triple team, even if all three of them aren’t simultaneously blocking him. Does Watt get a Sack, TFL, QBHit, or any sort of pressure on this play? Not really, Levis got rid of the ball right before being demolished on the opposite side. A play like this doesn’t show up in a highlight reel, but it perfectly demonstrates the impact Watt has beyond the numbers. This is why you see stats like “The Steelers are 1-11 when Watt doesn’t play,” not because TJ Watt is a herald of death and destruction (though he is. I’m convinced the only reason Jake Browning threw this pass was because he thought Watt would’ve sent him to an early retirement) but because his presence singlehandedly draws the burden off everyone else. Here’s a similar play of another Watt double as Highsmith destroys the single blocker on the other side. When TJ decides to do the dirty work himself, he’s no less effective. His two week 4 sacks versus the Ravens show his range of approach - here he shows his push, minimizing time spent getting tangled with the tackle. He later sealed the game by doing the opposite, undercutting the tackle so effectively that Justice Hill completely whiffs his block. This play of Watt perfectly timing the snap and completely overpowering Freeland is the stuff of beauty. Good luck trying to do a pulling block – unless they [run a 4.5](twitter.com/se…
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