GOAT Index
Two legends at a time. Thousands of votes. One ranking.
J.J. Watt: the case for the GOAT
Who's greater?
Standings
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Career highlights
The case for the GOAT
J.J. Watt: the case for the GOAT
DE · Texans · Born 22 March 1989, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA · Career 2011–2022
Defensive end who spent ten seasons with the Houston Texans before finishing with the Arizona Cardinals, also celebrated for his charity work.
Career highlights
- 3× Defensive Player of the Year
- Two 20-sack seasons
- 5× first-team All-Pro
- 5× Pro Bowl selection
- Walter Payton Man of the Year (2017)
Why J.J. Watt could be the GOAT
Watt is the only player with two 20-sack seasons and won three Defensive Player of the Year awards in four years. At his peak from 2012 to 2015 he played at a level few defenders have touched. His Hurricane Harvey fundraising also showed impact far beyond the field.
What fans say
J.J. Watt is #15 of 30 in the fan ranking, with a 1–1 head-to-head record from 76 NFL votes. See the full NFL GOAT ranking
J.J. Watt head to head
How the ranking works. Every head-to-head vote is a result, like a game. The standings use a Bradley–Terry model, the same idea behind chess ratings: beating a highly rated legend counts for more than beating a long shot. Ratings are shown on a chess-style scale centred on 1500.
One vote per matchup per person. If you see a pairing again in another session your new answer replaces the old one, so nobody can stuff the ballot by repeating a matchup.
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Photo credits
Photos come from Wikimedia Commons under the licenses listed. Each links to its source page.