Steelers T.J. Watt ranked 93rd on NFL Network’s top 100 players of 2019

The Steelers saw their first player listed in the premier of NFL Network’s Top 100 players of 2019. T.J. Watt comes in as the 93rd best in the league.

Every offseason, NFL Network releases their ‘Top 100 players’ list from the previous season. The Pittsburgh Steelers had a whopping 6 representatives from last years’ list: Cameron Heyward (48th), Ryan Shazier (47th), David DeCastro (44th), Ben Roethlisberger (18th), Le’Veon Bell (5th), and Antonio Brown (2nd).

NFL Network had their premier episode of 2019 last night, and a new Steeler found his way on the list. T.J. Watt came in as NFL Network’s 93rd ranked player in the NFL last season:

This comes on the heels of a 13.0 sack, 6 forced fumble performance in his sophomore season with the Steelers.

Watt busted onto the scene last year and really turned heads as he emerged as one of the best pass rushers in the league. He is one of the single most important pieces of Pittsburgh’s franchise, and is expected to continue to get better in his 3rd NFL season.

Some of the other players relieved last night included Eric Weddle, Tyler Lockett, Byron Jones, Carson Wentz, and Andrew Whitworth.

This list is voted on by the players. While it’s an honor to hear your name mentioned, I take this list with a grain of salt.

Last year, both Ryan Shazier and Le’Veon Bell were perhaps ranked too high . Shazier was deserving of this list and landed in the 47th spot despite missing a quarter of the season with a spinal injury.

Bell, on the other hand, took a major dip in efficiency from 2016 to 2017. He dropped nearly an entire yard per carry (4.9 to 4.0) in one season’s time, and added just 3 runs of 20 yards on 321 attempts. Still, Le’Veon was able to land a spot as the 5th best player in the entire NFL.

Regardless of where these players end up, it’s nice to see a player like T.J. Watt get recognized for his accomplishments last season. After not being selected to the Pro Bowl in 2018, he was later added as an alternate.

Watt still has a lot to prove, but he will no doubt be up to the task this season. It will be interesting to see which other Steelers will end up making the top 100 list this season.