(Photo: Behind the Steel Curtain)
6. T.J. Watt: I always say these go by so quickly and I can’t believe we are almost done with this version of “Best In The Business”. After today, five will remain. When you think of the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the number of great defensive players always comes to mind. Mel Blount, Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Rod Woodson, and Troy Polamalu are a few names that I immediately thought of and I know I’m missing some. This next guy has a chance to be mentioned with every name I mentioned a few sentences ago. To be honest, he may already be there as one of the greats! He made his debut on this list in 2022 and he’s back for the second time. T.J. Watt is back! He rounds out the first half of the list at number six and checks in as my second-ranked defensive player in the league today.
The first thing you think of with him is pass rushing and that’s his specialty. I feel he doesn’t get the credit for being an all-around defensive player because he does so much more than getting to the Quarterback. T.J. has a strong sense and understanding of when a team is going to run or throw the ball. His awareness is top notch and he’s always near or around the line of scrimmage. T.J. is the definition of read and react if I ever saw it. First, he scans everything out, then goes in to make his play. He’s consistent in getting home to the passer and blows up running plays. When it comes to rushing the passer, T.J. has a strong arsenal of moves to get home such as using that speed off the edge and beating you with a simple rush or he can use a bull rush. He’s that explosive out of his stance and wins just about all of his battles. Stopping the run, he uses that same speed to burst through lanes and blockers, then brings down the ball carrier. Even if T.J. isn’t sacking the Quarterback, he’s in the vicinity of the passer and finds a way to still impact and make the Quarterback hesitate. I remember a play from 2022 against the Cincinnati Bengals that made my jaw drop. He was running down as if he was applying pressure then dropped back some and intercepted Joe Burrow. It’s that timing I was just talking about. Weeks later that season against the Bengals again, he intercepted Burrow the same way! He’s such a force and if you don’t account for him or chip him, he makes all sorts of plays such as the one I just mentioned.
The Steelers are a much different team with number 90 on the field compared to when he’s not there. It’s tough to replace a guy of his caliber because he does so much to impact the game. He finished last season with 19 sacks which led the league. The controversy was the Defensive Player of the Year award and who deserved it more, T.J. Watt or Myles Garrett? This felt like 2020 all over again, but I expect T.J. to play with a serious vengeance this year as he did in 2021 after he felt he was snubbed of the award. Offenses beware.
