Can J.J. Watt Really Become the NFL MVP?

Is it that crazy or far-fetched to think that Houston Texans defensive savant J.J. Watt can actually win the NFL's Most Valuable Player award?

The league's latest $100 million man has been on a tear this season, but is that enough?

History is certainly against him. Out of all the players who have that piece of hardware in their collection, the last defensive player to win it was Lawrence Taylor back in 1986. Clearly, a lot has changed since Ronald Reagan called the White House home.

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Taylor's season in 1986 was his best statistical year as a pro. His 20.5 sacks signified how destructive he was. The NFL had seen some tremendous pass-rushers before, but none held a candle to LT.

Watt and Taylor have two major things in common. First and foremost, both guys are dominant. They are two players whom offenses frequently lose sleep over and have to account for on every single snap.

Secondly—and perhaps more importantly—they are larger-than-life figures who define their respective generations. History will look back on what each of these men did and marvel at their greatness.

Can Watt channel his inner LT and win the prestigious MVP award? That's going to be a taxing venture.

The NFL has become a league obsessed with offense. Rule changes and the increasing amount of superior athletes on rosters have turned the league into one that breeds points.

Because of that, you have quarterbacks, wide receivers and halfbacks frequently putting up enormous numbers.

Since 2007, six quarterbacks have won the award. In that time frame, each QB threw for over 4,000 yards and, apart from Peyton Manning in 2008, every one of them connected on more than 30 touchdown passes.

Forget the fact that Watt had 20.5 sacks in 2012 and batted down 16 passes. All those swollen numbers did was put him fourth in the MVP race.

This year, Watt has a chance to break through all of that offensive madness and stake his claim for the award. Through four weeks of the season, he's done it all.

Defensively, he has two sacks, one forced fumble, two passes defended and an 80-yard interception that he took to the house. But Watt hasn't stopped there.

I guess he got the memo that offense matters, because in Week 2 against the Oakland Raiders, he lined up at tight end and caught a one-yard touchdown pass. His head coach Bill O'Brien talked about why he was out there in the first place during his postgame presser.

"We’ve been working on that for a while. You’ve got a guy there that’s such a great athlete, 6’7", 290 pounds, got really good hands. You should probably try to get him in there once in a while on offense, so we decided to do that today," O'Brien told the media, via HoustonTexans.com.

If you haven't had the pleasure of watching Watt carry the 3-1 Texans on his back, let Pro Football Focus (subscription required) serve as your trusted guide. Without counting his titanic outing against the Buffalo Bills, Watt is already PFF's No. 1-ranked 3-4 defensive end.

In a piece detailing Watt's brilliance, Bleacher Report's Cian Fahey touched on the biggest issue with him winning an MVP award: "The impact of individual defensive players can't come close to the impact of quarterbacks," Fahey notes.

Despite all of the offensive favoritism and all of the great things Watt can do on the field, quarterbacks will always have a better shot at taking home MVP honors—even if they don't deserve it.

You can't praise this man enough for what he's done for the Texans. He's a once-in-a-lifetime talent, and as Nick Mathews of the Houston Chronicle tweeted, even opposing players understand that:

Can J.J. Watt win the MVP? The odds are certainly not in his favor. But does it really matter?

MVP or not, Watt is one of the best players we've seen in a very long time. The more we learn to appreciate him, the better off we'll be.

Unless noted otherwise, all game scores and information come courtesy of ESPN.com.