J.J. Watt. Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

J.J. Watt has interesting take on NFL MVP award

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated Sep 28, 2023 8:57 PM ET

Recently retired former Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt’s list of accomplishments is second to none.

His resume includes three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards, five first-team All-Pro selections, five Pro Bowl selections, two second-team All-Pro selections, two NFL sack titles and a spot in the Texans Ring of Honor.

But was he robbed of a league MVP? The Texans certainly think so as evidenced by a tweet from the team’s official X account on Thursday in which it included Watt’s 2014 stats — a season in which he had 20.5 sacks, led the league with 29 tackles for loss and was named an All-Pro as a defensive end and defensive tackle — and declared Watt should have won the MVP award.

Watt actually quote tweeted the team’s post with a surprising response to not winning the award that season, which went to former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

The honest truth is that it’s physically impossible for any one player to be more “valuable” than the quarterback. They touch the ball every single play. A QB should always win MVP.

“Best Player” and “MVP” are often, but not always the same.

(Aaron was very deserving IMO) https://t.co/Vn77TjWLvb
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) September 28, 2023

While many disagree with Watt’s quarterback-only assessment of the MVP, the award voting tends to side with Watt.

The last time a non-QB won the award was running back Adrian Peterson in 2012, and just four non-quarterbacks have won an MVP since 2000. In fact, of the 57 previous winners, 38 have been quarterbacks and just two defensive players — defensive tackle Alan Page, linebacker Lawrence Taylor — have won.

Michael Gallagher

Michael Gallagher is a longtime sports journalist based out of Nashville with a decade of experience covering college football, mixed martial arts and prep sports plus the NFL and NHL — specifically the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. He’s covered several notable sporting events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game and an NHL Stadium Series. Some of his past bylines can be found at the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, The Hockey News and Fox Sports Knoxville

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