As the offseason summer rolls into training camp, more and more positional rankings are being published, giving fans and media alike an idea of where teams and players stand heading into the 2024 NFL season.
Surprising absolutely no one, Pittsburgh Steelers’ linebacker T.J. Watt is being cited as one of the top defenders in the league.
In a recent ranking of the top edge rushers in the NFL, Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports awarded Watt the No. 1 spot on the list, putting him ahead of fellow wreaking balls Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns and Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers.
Here’s what Benjamin had to say about Watt:
“Myles Garrett has technically been steadier over the last half decade, if only because an injury limited Watt to 10 games in 2022. In every other way, though, No. 90 on the Steelers has been the standard-setter for edge rushing, and it's not even particularly close. Clearing 13 sacks in each of his last five healthy seasons, with close to 30 forced fumbles and 200 quarterback hits in his vaunted career, the six-time Pro Bowler is the heart of Pittsburgh's old-school program, pairing elite get-off with jarring physicality. If he's on the field, Watt is easily the most feared player at his position.”
Indeed, Watt’s steady production as a disruptor makes him a clear pick as one of the most valuable defenders in the NFL. Few individual players on the defensive side of the ball can come close to impacting the course of a game as Watt does week after week after week.
Since being drafted ahead of the 2017 season, Watt’s play has been as consistent as it has been dominant.
| Year | GP | Tackles | Sacks | FF | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 15 | 54 | 7.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2018 | 16 | 68 | 13.0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2019 | 16 | 55 | 14.5 | 8 | 2 |
| 2020 | 15 | 53 | 15.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2021 | 15 | 64 | 22.5 | 5 | 0 |
| 2022 | 10 | 39 | 5.5 | 1 | 2 |
| 2023 | 17 | 68 | 19.0 | 4 | 1 |
Watt wasn’t the only Steelers defender to make the list, as he was joined by fellow linebacker Alex Highsmith, who was named the No. 19 edge rusher of the coming season.