More often than not, the quarterback is the most valuable player on a football team. That’s never been more true than in this era of NFL football.
The Steelers have found that out the hard way in recent years, having some issues under center following the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, which has ultimately held the team back. They seem to have the position figured out though, at least on paper, with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at quarterback entering the 2024 season.
That doesn’t mean other players and positions aren’t important.
EDGE defender is right up there with quarterback, and fortunately for the Steelers they have a superstar and future Hall of Famer to work with in T.J. Watt.
Entering the 2024 season, Watt appears poised for another huge season, especially with an improved defense around him following offseason acquisitions in linebacker Patrick Queen, cornerbacks Donte Jackson and Cameron Sutton, and safety DeShon Elliott.
Watt should benefit from those improvements, which has The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly naming Watt the Steelers’ non-QB MVP.
“How can’t it be Watt? He’s averaging just a tad under a sack per game in his career and had seasons of 22 1/2 and 19 1/2 sacks in two of his last three seasons. He will reach 100 career sacks early in the season and has yet to turn 30,” Kaboly writes regarding Watt as the Steelers’ non-QB MVP. “Watt should benefit from a defense that got better in the offseason with the acquisition of Patrick Queen in the middle to go along with a healthy Minkah Fitzpatrick, who would be a close second in terms of MVP.
“In terms of Watt, he was named team MVP in four of the past five years. The only time he didn’t was when he missed half the season with a torn pectoral.”
Watt isn’t a surprise choice. In fact, one could argue he’s the obvious choice.
And that’s okay. He’s as dominant as they come rushing the passer. As Kaboly highlighted, Watt will reach the 100-sack mark in his career rather quickly in 2024. That will put him in some elite company coming off a terrific 2023 season.
Last year, Watt led the NFL in sacks for the third time in his career, becoming just the first player ever to lead the NFL in sacks in three different seasons since the NFL made it an official statistic in 1982. Previously, Deacon Jones accomplished the feat five times, leading the NFL in the category in 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, and 1969, but that was well before the league made the sack an official statistic.
Watt led the NFL with 15 sacks in 2020, 22.5 sacks in 2021 while tying the official sack record in a single season with Michael Strahan, and 19 sacks in 2023.
Watt is a superstar and had an incredible 2023 season, putting him closer and closer to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was healthy and on the field all season and dominated each and every week.
Watt had at least at least one sack in 13 of 17 games on the year. He was a force against the run, too, added an interception and scored a defensive touchdown on a fumble return, helping the Steelers win an early-season game against the Cleveland Browns.
Despite his dominance, he lost out on the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award last year to Cleveland’s Myles Garrett. Watt did win the Steelers’ MVP award, becoming the second Steelers to ever win the award four times, joining former receiver Antonio Brown.
He’s in search of a franchise-record fifth MVP in 2024. Who knows? He could even find himself in NFL MVP discussions in 2024 with another big season, taking advantage of an improved defense around him.
