J.J. Watt jokes that T.J. needs more hardware before reaching his level

Sibling rivalry is deep among the Watt brothers, especially between J.J. and T.J., two of the league’s best linebackers.

On Monday, J.J. Watt was asked what it’s like to be competing against his younger brother for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

“I’m really excited about it,” Watt told the media in a press conference. “I love watching him play. It’s fun to have conversations with him and work in the offseason… For me and T.J., playing the same position, fighting for the same things, trying to one-up each other at all times — there’s nothing better than that.”

While Watt can’t have the same conversations with his other brother Derek, he’s looking forward to being able to see both of them in action when he can. Derek joined the Steelers this offseason and is their starting fullback.

“One of my favorite things after [Texans] games is to go online and see what [T.J.’s] stats are during the game or to turn on their game if it’s on in the afternoon and watch,” shared Watt. “So now I’ll be able to turn on those games and see both of them.”

“For me and T.J., personally, there’s a whole lot of competition going on, and I have no plans on letting my little brother win anytime soon,” Watt said.

When will Watt see T.J. as a peer instead of his “little brother”?

“Once [T.J.] has three Defensive Player of the Year awards, I’ll see him as a peer,” joked Watt.

Seeing as J.J. has nine seasons under his belt and T.J. is just heading into his fourth, I don’t think T.J. topping his older brother’s DPOY collection is out of the question. But since J.J. won the coveted award three times in his first five seasons, T.J. does have some catching up to do.

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