Poll: Will J.J. Watt Break The NFL Sack Record In 2015
By Randy Gurzi
In 2011 the Houston Texans selected defensive end J.J. Watt with the 11th overall selection out of Wisconsin. It didn’t take long at all for the team to begin to benefit from their choice.
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He started all 16 games that season and has never missed a game in his career. During his rookie year, Watt recorded 56 tackles and 5.5 sacks while also deflecting four passes. To date, his rookie season has been his worst statistical performance for a year’s work.
Watt followed his rookie year up with an impressive 20.5 sacks and deflected an amazing 16 passes. He earned the nickname J.J. Swat during this season since he showed such a knack for knocking down passes at the line of scrimmage.
Watt earned the honor of being named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year after his impressive sophomore campaign. In 2014 he once again totaled 20.5 sacks and was again given the honor of being the Defensive Player of the Year.
Watt even earned votes for NFL MVP for his 2015 season which also saw him catch three touchdown passes from the tight end position.
At only 26 years of age, it would seem that J.J. is still entering his prime, which is a scary thing when you realize he is the only player in NFL history to record more than 20 sacks in a season twice in his career.
Smart money would be on Watt to top the 20 sack total again at some point in his career, considering he has done it twice in only four seasons. Does that mean that eventually he will knock former New York Giant defensive end Michael Strahan off the top of the single-season sack leader board?
Strahan recorded 22.5 sacks in 2001 and while some have come close, like Watt and Kansas City Chief linebacker Justin Houston who had 22 last year, no one has dethroned the current talk show host.
My question is whether or not you believe Watt will be the one to finally take Strahan down, and if so, will he do it in 2015 with some new weapons around him to help alleviate some of the attention he receives from offenses. Let us know in the poll below and feel free to comment as well!
Toro Times is committed to giving a fan’s take on all things Houston Texans. And we believe it’s our staff’s unique and varied perspectives that makes us different than any other sports site on the internet. With that being said, getting our readers’ perspective on various Texans-related topics is essential for us to be successful.
Therefore, we’ll often use poll questions to gauge how our readers feel about a specific topic. Their answers not only influence our articles, but they also keep us in touch with what our fans actually think and feel about their beloved team. So, please considering giving your answer in the above poll and participate in the conversation below in our comment section.