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30 greatest Pittsburgh Steelers of the 2000s

By Tommy Jaggi

PITTSBURGH - JANUARY 18: Safety Troy Polamalu #43 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates his touchdown with defensive end Brett Keisel against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter of the AFC championship game on January 18, 2009 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH - JANUARY 18: Safety Troy Polamalu #43 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates his touchdown with defensive end Brett Keisel against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter of the AFC championship game on January 18, 2009 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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T.J. Watt #90 of the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images) /

5. T.J. Watt, EDGE (2017)

You may think it is a little premature to have Watt ranked 5th out of all the Steelers to play over the past 20 years, but I don’t think that is going to be the case.

After playing just 4 NFL seasons, T.J. Watt embodies what it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler: he’s a tough hard-nosed football player who sells his body on every play, and he’s starting to develop the reputation to prove it.

Much like Ryan Shazier, Watt is a player who puts winning above himself. Though he strives to be the best at his position, he doesn’t let anything come before the team.

As an edge rusher, T.J. Watt plays a very important position and is already doing it at an extremely high level. In his first four seasons, Watt is on record pace with 49.5 sacks, 59 tackles for a loss, 17 forced fumbles, and a whopping 111 quarterback hits. With a limitless athletic profile and a motor that is always firing on all cylinders; Watt will have a chance to hear his name called among the greatest Steelers to play the position someday.

T.J. Watt is embracing his new role as a leader of the defense and promises to get better as a player. He is currently the single most valuable defensive player to the Steelers franchise. When it is all said and done, I think Watt will have a chance to climb near the top of this list of the ‘Top 30 players of the 2000s.

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