Bucs’ Gerald McCoy Quietly Competing with J.J. Watt for NFL’s Best Defender

October 7, 2014   ·   Brent Sobleski   ·   Jump to comments

The Houston Texans' J.J. Watt is considered the best defensive player in football, yet the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Gerald McCoy is having a better season. 
The biggest difference between the two is Watt plays for a revived 3-2 Texans squad, while McCoy continues to dominate for the lowly 1-4 Buccaneers. 
When their individual play is compared, McCoy is much closer than statistics would indicate. 
Two things need to be taken into consideration when looking at McCoy's performance to date. 
First, the defensive tackle played 124 fewer snaps than Watt this season due to a broken hand, which McCoy suffered during the first quarter against the St. Louis Rams. While McCoy's average grade is lower per game, the Oklahoma product only played nine snaps against the Rams, which brings down the average. McCoy's average grade per game in which he was a full participant is 6.2, or a full point higher per game than Watt. 
If Pro Football Focus' grades (s...

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