3 reasons Alex Highsmith will be among most valuable Steelers in 2021
By Tommy Jaggi
The makings of a lifelong Steelers defender
Bare with me, as I’m about to drop some cliche words to describe Alex Highsmith for you: grit, desire, motivation, work ethic, passion. No, I’m not trying to write a script for a coach’s speech in a cheesy sports movie. While these terms often get overused in football, there is no player more deserving of having them attached to their name than Highsmith.
As a player who has worked his tail off with every drop of sweat and blood to get where he is right now, Highsmith has the makings of a life-long Steeler. If Pittsburgh looks for one trait in a defender, it’s the desire to go all-out on each and every play, and I can assure you that Alex Highsmith leaves nothing on the table at the end of the day.
Soon T.J. Watt will be the highest-paid edge defender in the NFL – and for good reason. While the Steelers typically keep one high-profile edge rusher and draft and replace the other, I have a feeling that Highsmith is a player they are going to want to fork up a second contract to. He’s a fiery competitor who plays like each snap could be his last.
When promising, young Steelers are brought up in conversation, fans often levitate to players like Chase Claypool, Devin Bush, or JuJu Smith-Schuster. However, Alex Highsmith deserves to be in this conversation, and he could very well prove to be the most valuable of them all.