Steelers Free Agent Grades: A bad midseason only got worse

Derek Watt

Grade: F

I found myself hyping up the addition of Derek Watt shortly after he was signed this offseason. While adding a fullback isn’t glamorous, the Steelers had rushing issues and Watt also seemed like a decent special teams’ player. All of this seemed to crumble once he took the field. The Steelers barely used him on offense and his special teams’ play was ok at best. That would have been fine for a fullback playing on a minimal contract, but Watt is earning 3.25 million dollars per year.

His offensive usage was surprising, to say the least, this year. While he was never going to play 25 percent of the snaps, he only ended up playing just five percent, the lowest he has ever played on offense. Part of this was due to an injury he suffered, as it caused him to miss a few games to heal up. Even when healthy though, he failed to see significant offensive snaps. Simply put, Watt wasn’t effective as a blocker, and the team wasn’t a better running team with him on the field.

This was evident with the teams’ struggles in short-yardage. The offensive line had its fair share of issues blocking, but Watt did next to nothing as a blocker for the Steelers. Meanwhile, his special teams’ ability was fine, but certainly not worth the money he is set to make. While it is fun to imagine all three Watt brothers playing with the Steelers, JJ Watt seems like a long shot, and the Steelers will likely cut Derek this offseason. He hasn’t been worth the money, and the team can spend the money better elsewhere.