Steelers could have one of the most dominant defensive pairings in history

The Pittsburgh Steelers have two fantastic defenders. Here’ why T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick will have a chance to go down in history. 

After the dominant defenses of the 2000s, the Steelers had a dry spout on talent for a few years. The league’s most intimidating defense lost Troy Polamalu to retirement in 2014, and James Harrison was washed up at this point.

A few years earlier, this was the most dominant defensive pairing in all of football. Polamalu and Harrison had each earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, and between 2005 and 2011, they had combined for six First-Team All-Pro honors.

Towards the end of their careers, Pittsburgh was in search of the next game-changing player in a long line of dominant defenders. It appeared as if they may have found one in Ryan Shazier. Sadly, his career was cut short due to a serious spinal cord injury. While Cameron Heyward and a few others have stepped up over the years, they never reached the level of stardom to be considered the very best in the league at their position.

Now, over a decade removed from Polamalu’s and Harrison’s dominant defensive run that helped their team to three Super Bowls and two championship rings, the Steelers finally found a dominant young defensive duo in T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Though it is still very early in their NFL careers, they are on an even faster statistical and reward pace than Polamalu or Harrison. Assuming they stay together (and there’s no reason for the Steelers not to pay them both), could Watt and Fitzpatrick go down as one of the most dominant defensive pairings in NFL history?

Why this Steelers defensive duo is so special

It’s rare that a team has two perennial All-Pro defenders in the prime of their career at the same time. There were only two seasons that Polamalu and Harrison were listed as First-Team All-Pro Players (2008 and 2010). Watt and Fitzpatrick have already matched this – each earning First-Team All-Pro honors in 2019 and 2020. Now, they will have a chance to expand on this.

Not even Troy Polamalu earned First-Team All-Pro honors in three consecutive seasons, and he didn’t earn his second All-Pro until the age of 27. Fitzpatrick will have a chance to earn his third during his age-24 season this year.

Historically, players who earn at least four First-Team All-Pros in their NFL careers typically have a great chance of making the Hall of Fame. While there’s no guarantee that Watt and Fitzpatrick can continue at this remarkable pace, they are still young football players and their best years should be ahead of them.

However, earning some of the NFL’s highest honors isn’t the only reason why T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick might be the NFL’s most dominant defensive pairing. In addition to their 4 combined All-Pros early in their careers, they both have had eye-popping production over the past two seasons. Over the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Watt has earned a remarkable 29.5 sacks, 37 tackles for a loss, 77 quarterbacks hits, 10 forced fumbles, 15 pass defenses, and 3 interceptions, according to Pro Football Reference.

Watt’s numbers are arguably more impressive than any defensive player in the league over the past two years. However, Minkah might be statistically the most impressive player in the secondary over that span. Since 2019, he has compiled 9 interceptions, 20 pass defenses, 3 forced fumbles, and 4 fumble recoveries to go with an outrageous 207 interception return yards and 3 total defensive touchdowns.

There are a few other defensive superstar players out there who are arguably even better than what the Steelers have with guys like Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett. However, no other team in the league has quite as dominant of a defensive pairing as the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Though it’s hard to compare anybody to All-Time greats like Troy Polamalu and James Harrison, T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick are transcending superstars with even faster starts to their NFL careers. It will be interesting to see if they are on this level of legend status when their careers are finished. Hopefully, both will be Steelers for life.