Pittsburgh Steelers star edge rusher T.J. Watt is officially back in the mix for some extra hardware to close out the season, announced as a finalist for 2024 AP Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday. It marks the fourth time Watt has been named a finalist for the award over the past five seasons, with his only win coming in the 2021 NFL season.

Among the other finalists for DPOY were Philadelphia Eagles LB Zack Baun, Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett, Cincinnati Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson and Denver Broncos CB Pat Surtain II. Baun, Hendrickson and Surtain are each seeking their first DPOY award, while Garrett and Watt are seeking their second.

Fans may consider Watt’s nomination somewhat surprising given what was a relatively disappointing 2024 campaign. After starting the year hot with 4.5 sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and six tackles for a loss over the first five weeks, Watt failed to register a single stat over his final two games of the season — no sacks, no tackles, no QB hits.

His 11.5 sacks in 2024 marked the fewest he’d had in a season where he’d played 15+ games saying back to his rookie season in 2017. He did, however, lead the NFL in forced fumbles (6) while tallying 19 TFL, 27 QB hits and 61 combined tackles.

The winner of Defensive Player of the Year (and the rest of the AP Award winners for 2024) will be announced at the NFL Honors ceremony on Thursday, February 6, hosted at the Saenger Theater in New Orleans, Louisiana. It will be televised live at 9 p.m. ET on Fox and NFL Network, as well as available for live stream using NFL+.

Do you think Watt deserves to win 2024 DPOY?