Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt will be looking to notch his second NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2023 after a 2022 season that included him missing seven games due to a pectoral injury. To secure that prestigious award in 2023, Watt will obviously need to have a consistent performance this coming season and stay healthy. Ahead of the Steelers’ 2023 training camp getting underway, I thought it would be fun to look at 14 predicted different right tackles that Watt is likely to do battle against during the regular season.
In this series of two-a-day posts, each will include two tackles that Watt is likely to face during the 2023 season. Next up in this series is a look at the second set of two right tackles that Watt will likely face in 2023: Kelvin Beachum of the Arizona Cardinals and Riley Reiff of the New England Patriots.
Kelvin Beachum, Arizona Cardinals – Week 13: With the Cardinals selecting Paris Johnson Jr. in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, it sets Arizona up with an interesting decision as to where he best fits on their offensive line during his rookie season. Most analysts seem to think he might settle in at guard initially with the veteran Beachum getting the nod at right tackle. With the Steelers 2023 game against the Cardinals being in the second half of the season, a lot can obviously change before that contest rolls around. For now, however, I predict that Beachum will be the Cardinals right tackle come Week 13.
Beachum is very experienced, as he entered the NFL in 2012 with the Steelers as a seventh-round selection. Beachum has started 147 games in his career and has mainly played right tackle for the Cardinals the last three seasons. In his one game against the Steelers since leaving Pittsburgh, Beachum played left tackle as a member of the New York Jets. He didn’t see much of Watt in that game.
Last season, Beachum allowed just two sacks, two quarterback hits and 24 hurries in 591 pass blocking opportunities, according to Pro Football Focus. His overall PFF grade for 2022 was 63.4, however. He is a better pass protector than he is a run blocker at this stage of his career.
Outlook: Assuming Beachum winds up the starter at right tackle come Week 13, it sets up for an intriguing matchup between the two veterans. Beachum is very much a technician at this point in his career, so he’ll study the hell out of Watt before he faces him to get a good bead on his potential plan. All that said, Beachum is now 34 years of age and that should play into the younger Watt’s favor.
In closing, should we indeed wind up with a Watt versus Beachum matchup in Week 13, I like the chances of the former to come out on top and thus make a few key plays in that contest. Should, however, Watt wind up facing the rookie Johnson in Week 13, it sets the stage for a totally different kind of battle and mostly because of the length, agility, and pedigree the Ohio State product possesses.
Riley Reiff, New England Patriots – Week 14: After signing the veteran Reiff to a one-year, $5 million contract during free agency this past offseason, it sets up for him to be the Patriots starting right tackle in 2023. Barring him playing bad or getting injured, he is the one likely to face Watt in Week 14. Last season, Reiff, a former first round draft pick out of Iowa, played for the Chicago Bears and he started 10 games for them at right tackle. In 2022, Reiff allowed three sacks, two quarterback hits and 13 hurries in 293 total pass blocking opportunities, according to Pro Football Focus. His overall PFF grade in 2022 was 64.3.
Reiff played for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021 and played in both games against the Steelers that season. He did not allow a sack in either of those 2021 meetings against the Steelers.
Outlook: Reiff obviously is not the player he once was and he’s well on his way to turning 35 years of age in December as well. Even so, the Patriots targeted Reiff early in free agency this past offseason so they seem to have confidence that they can get one more good year out of him. Overall, Reiff has fared well against Watt in past meetings. They certainly won’t be strangers to each other.
I would look for the Patriots to do their best to keep Watt at bay in Week 14. Doing that will likely result in them giving Reiff a lot of help. This is Reiff’s twelfth NFL season and that speaks volumes, so I expect this Week 14 matchup to be a good one. In fact, it might be one of the tougher matchups that Watt will have in 2023. After all, these aren’t two rookies going against each other.
Previous Posts In This Series:
Two-A-Day Series: Right Tackles Steelers OLB T.J. Watt Likely To Face In 2023 – McKivitz, Conklin
Two-A-Day Series: Right Tackles Steelers OLB T.J. Watt Likely To Face In 2023 – Eluemunor, Howard
Two-A-Day Series: Right Tackles Steelers OLB T.J. Watt Likely To Face In 2023 – Moses, Havenstein
Two-A-Day Series: Right Tackles Steelers OLB T.J. Watt Likely To Face In 2023 – Harrison, Unknown
Two-A-Day Series: Right Tackles Steelers OLB T.J. Watt Likely To Face In 2023 – Tom, Williams
