Pittsburgh Steelers edge defender T.J. Watt has been outstanding as of late. Has he become the single most valuable edge defender in the league?
The Steelers defense has been on fire over their last four games. After starting the season 0-3, Pittsburgh has won 3 of their last 4 contests – surrendering just 15.0 points per contest during that span.
While Minkah Fitzpatrick seems to be getting all of the attention, T.J. Watt is silently having the best season of his young NFL career.
Watt has been phenomenal by every metric this year. He has recorded 6.0 sacks in 7 games this season as well as an interception. Against the Dolphins alone, Watt recorded 2.0 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. The Pro Bowl pass rusher seems to get better with each passing game.
But statistics aren’t the only metric to base his success from this year. Watt is also the highest-rated edge defender in the National Football League, according to Pro Football Focus. Here is what they had to say from his performance against the Dolphins:
Week 9 PFF Preview:
— PFF PIT Steelers (@PFF_Steelers) October 31, 2019
T.J. Watt enters Week 9 ranked second in the NFL in PFF pass-rush grade at 91.4. Totaling 37 pressures in 223 pass-rush snaps, Watt also ranks fourth in pass-rush win percentage (21.1%) and ninth in pressure percentage (16.6%).https://t.co/7HBiN2rP8W pic.twitter.com/wAiJy4J7Vi
Watt was phenomenal against Miami. He has now boosted his overall season grade to a 91.6 – higher than players like Khalil Mack, Dee Ford, and J.J. Watt.
The Steelers pass rusher is currently graded higher than any edge defender in the NFL, and just 3 defensive players in the league (Aaron Donald, Calais Campbell, and Alexander Johnson) have a higher overall grade on the season.
Speaking in terms of overall value to his team, is there an edge defender in the league you would take over Watt right now?
Watt turned 25 years old a few weeks back, and when you factor in age, he is approximately 3.5 years younger than Khalil Mack, 3.5 years younger than Dee Ford, and 5.5 years younger than is big brother, J.J. Watt.
Watt is a force to be reckoned with each week. He has the ability to win with both power and speed and can beat tackles inside or outside – sometimes straight through a double-team.
There are a few players other players who are certainly in contention for being the most valuable edge rusher in the league. Khalil Mack is obviously a game-changer, and we saw what he has been able to do for Chicago’s defense. Though he is older than Watt, he is also more proven. Danielle Hunter is about the same age as Watt, and he already has 48.0 career sacks through his first four and a half seasons.
Former 1st overall pick Myles Garrett is still in the mix here. He has ten sacks on the season. Likewise, both Nick and Joey Bosa are younger than Watt with world’s of upside (though they have trouble staying on the field).
There are a lot of outstanding edge defenders emerging in today’s NFL. While it’s safe to say that you can pick your poison between these premier players, T.J. Watt is playing as well as any of them. It’s nice to know that Steelers have a pass rusher who can be considered the most valuable player at his position in the league.