Myles Garrett wins AP Defensive Player of the Year and CJ Stroud is top offensive rookie

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Myles Garrett beat out TJ Watt for the AP Defensive Player of the Year award, announced Thursday night at the NFL Honors.

Cleveland’s All-Pro edge rusher received 23 first-place votes and 165 points from a panel of voters nationwide, while Watt received 19 first-place votes and 140 points, which included media members who regularly cover the NFL, former players and Coaches included.

First place votes are worth five points, second place votes are worth three points, and third place votes are worth one point.

CJ Stroud wins AP Offensive Rookie of the Year in style. The Houston Texans quarterback received 48 out of 50 first-place votes, while Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nakua received the other two.

Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz won the AP Assistant Coach of the Year award after guiding the league’s No. 1 ranked unit.

Schwartz received 25 first-place votes and finished with 160 points, easily surpassing Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike McDonald.

Edge rusher Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys finished third for Defensive Player of the Year with 89 points, which included seven first-place votes. Cornerback Daron Bland, Parson’s teammate, received the second first-place vote and came in fifth behind Raiders edge Max Crosby.

Watt, who won the award in 2021, led the NFL with 19 sacks. But Garrett had a better all-around season for the NFL’s top-ranked defense.

Despite frequent double-teams, Garrett had 14 sacks, 30 quarterback hits, 17 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and offensive coordinators were forced to avoid his side of the field.

Bland set an NFL record with five interception returns for touchdowns but was named on only six ballots. He received two votes for second place and three for third place to go along with the first one.

Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick, threw for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, five interceptions and had a passer rating of 100.8, the third-best by a rookie. He helped the Texans go from worst in the AFC South to first place and led them to a playoff victory in the wild-card round.

Stroud led the league in passing yards per game (273.9) and had the best touchdown-interception ratio at 4.6, tying for first in both categories in NFL history with Joe Montana (1989) and Tom Brady (2007). Vala became the third player. ,

Nacua set a new record with 105 receptions and 1,486 receiving yards. Lions tight end Sam LaPorta finished third.

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