T.J. Watt has spent years hearing Pittsburgh Steelers fans ask the question: Why tell offenses exactly where the best pass rusher will be? Watt has finally started moving around, which will force opponents to rethink how they slide protection No. 90's way. The result, at minimum, should be a less predictable defense.
Watt once viewed changing sides as surrendering an advantage. In 2023, he compared rushing from the right to “writing with my left hand” and told Ben Roethlisberger on his “Footballin” podcast, “I’d rather put all my eggs in one basket.” With his production, Watt’s stubbornness looked pretty reasonable. Every elite rusher has a preferred stance, set of counters, and angle to the quarterback, and Watt had spent years harassing signal-callers from the same comfy spot.
Offenses eventually turned that comfort into a GPS pin. Chips, protection slides, and quick throws repeatedly found Watt on the left, and the promised 2025 experimentation amounted to zilch. Of his 879 defensive-line snaps, 869 came from that side, according to PFF data.
Quarterbacks gained a useful head start from that certainty. A tight end could align near Watt, a running back could scan his direction, and the offensive line could tilt protection before Pittsburgh revealed anything else. Watt could beat the plan anyway, but opponents never had to guess where he'd be.
Watt now owns his role in that predictability. “In the past, it’s a little bit more of me being stubborn,” he said to the media. Patrick Graham’s defense builds movement into the call, so Watt added, “I really can’t say no.”
New Pittsburgh Steelers DC Patrick Graham is finally turning the T.J. Watt promise into a real plan
Practices last week supplied the evidence fans have learned not to assume, with Watt actually lining up on both sides. “I know I say it every year, but I think you’re truly going to see us moving all around this year,” he said. Steelers fans have heard versions of that promise before, but Graham’s system requires Watt to learn the entire front.
Watt’s résumé explains why coaches hesitated to mess with a good thing. He owns 115 sacks, 136 tackles for loss, 36 forced fumbles and nine interceptions. His career-high 22.5 sacks in 2021 tied the NFL single-season record. Last year’s seven sacks -- his lowest since 2022 -- reinforced the need to make protection tougher to organize.
Graham can also reduce Watt inside, send Nick Herbig outside, and rotate both with Alex Highsmith. Pittsburgh has practiced all three together, a package Herbig said the previous staff only “dabbled in.” Graham reportedly loves it, and that package gives quarterbacks three dangerous rushers to locate before the snap.
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