Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense emerged as one the very best in the entire NFL. In 2019, Pittsburgh ranked No. 5 in yards allowed, No. 5 in points allowed and was the best pass-rushing unit in the NFL. Perhaps the player who had the most to do with this improvement was linebacker T.J. Watt.
Watt proved all season there was literally nothing he couldn’t do on a football field. This level of play was recognized by our friends over at Touchdown Wire who ranked Watt the No. 6 edge defender in the NFL
Here’s what they had to say about Watt.
The Steelers took J.J. Watt’s younger brother in the first round of the 2017 draft, and Watt made the Pro Bowl in his second season with 13 sacks, 52 total pressures, and 47 stops. But Watt ratcheted things up even higher as a pass-rusher in 2019, with 14.5 sacks and 81 total pressures. Pittsburgh led the league with 180 total pressures and a pressure rate of 30.5%, and Watt was the force multiplier in that equation.
Watt’s trajectory is pointed straight up. The Steelers have a long history of some of the best pass rushers in the game and Watt certainly deserves to have his name mentioned among them. What gets lost in Watt’s game is what a complete player he is. Some of the guys ranked ahead of him had more sacks but in terms of a complete stat line, Watt is tough to match.
