Steelers T.J. Watt has been significantly more productive than nearly every edge defender from the 2017 NFL Draft.
The Steelers likely have a future Hall-of-Famer on their roster in their midst, and I’m not talking about quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. After a strong start since entering the NFL in 2017, T.J. Watt has only gotten better, and he continues to build on his impressive resume that already includes a first-team All-Pro appearance.
Last year, Watt was a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year award honors after earning 14.5 sacks, 14 tackles for a loss, 36 quarterback hits, and 8 forced fumbles, according to Pro Football Reference. While Watt surprisingly hasn’t been able to jar the ball lose yet this season, he is on pace to crush his career highs in sacks, tackles for a loss, and quarterback hits. He’s a top-three candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020, and it’s not hard to see why.
Reflecting back on the 2017 NFL Draft, some general managers are no doubt kicking themselves right now for passing on Watt. Myles Garrett is obviously a stud, and like Watt, he will be one of the best defensive players in the league for a very long time. However, several teams foolishly took edge defenders not named T.J. Watt when they had the chance to early in the 2017 draft.
Here’s a look at how each of these edge defenders has produced to date:
T.J. Watt's career stats vs. all other 1st round edge defenders in the 2017 NFL Draft: #Steelers @_TJWatt pic.twitter.com/hpQ7bCZmi8
— Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) November 17, 2020
Why Steelers made one of the best picks of the draft in 2017
It’s important to consider that Myles Garrett did miss 6 games due to suspension last year after clubbing Mason Rudolph over the head with his own helmet. However, some of the best ability is availability, and Watt has that in addition to everything else.
Apart from NFL teams allowing Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson to fall to the 10th and 12th overall picks, respectively, T.J. Watt may have been the biggest steal of the draft – especially considering that he’s already an NFL superstar.
Watt has significantly outproduced all other first-round edge players from his draft class, and several of these players have already been traded, released, or both. Charles Harris was a disaster for Miami despite being taken with the 22nd overall pick. He now resides with Atlanta after a low-risk trade. Meanwhile, Taco Charlton is looking for a role in Kansas City after failing miserably in Dallas, and Takkarist McKinley is currently a free agent.
Over the next few years, Watt is only going to continue to build on his impressive resume, while half of these former first-round picks could be out of the league in a few year’s time.
There will always be an argument about who is better between Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt, and it’s crazy to think the Browns could have had both without even trading up. For now, the Steelers star edge defender hasn’t given us any reason to wish we had anyone else. He truly is a special football player.