Will T.J. Watt Continue Rise to Becoming a Top Defender?
T.J. Watt is no longer just J.J.’s little brother
The Steelers edge rusher emerged as a star in his own right in 2019, finishing third in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting in his third season in the league. Watt was fourth with 14.5 sacks, third-most in Steelers franchise history behind James Harrison’s 16 in 2008 and Mike Merriweather’s 15 in 1984. He led the NFL with eight forced fumbles, was second in tackles for loss (10) and fourth in batted passes (five).
Watt was the highest-graded edge rusher by Pro Football Focus last season. He led a Steelers offense that led the league in both sacks (54) and sack rate (9.7). In addition to Watt, Bud Dupree contributed 11.5 sacks while veteran Cameron Heyward had nine. The Steelers had the third-best DVOA on defense, according to Football Outsiders. They gave up fewer than 20 points in a game nine times, fourth-most behind the Patriots, Bills, and Ravens.
On the second level of the defense, rookie Devin Bush was 13th among linebackers in defensive stops and led the team with 109 tackles, ahead of second-year safety Terrell Edmunds. The Steelers’ defense is young and talented. The challenge, according to Heyward (entering his 10th season in Pittsburgh), is for Bush to build on what he did as a rookie.
“We have a lot of older guys that are very confident. We expect Devin to not only match us but exceed us,” Heyward said during training camp. “Him being a second (year) guy, you see some guys either elevate or they go through a sophomore slump. We can’t allow Devin to do that. We know he has all the talent. He can be in any personnel. He’s a three-down back. Going forward, we just ask him to have confidence in what he’s doing.”
“He’s got to take a big step for us to get where we want to be.”
It was because of the Steelers defense that the team was able to overcome the loss of Roethlisberger last season and contend for a playoff spot. Now that the offense is back at full strength, a repeat performance by the defense will make the Steelers not only a playoff team but a potential Super Bowl contender.
