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 a to pectoral injury. To secure that prestigious defensive 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 a 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, Jermaine Eluemunor of the Las Vegas Raiders and Tytus Howard of the Houston Texans.
Jermaine Eluemunor – Las Vegas Raiders – Week 3 – As of right now it sure looks like Watt will face Eluemunor in Week 3 in a game that will be played in Las Vegas. Originally selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M, Eluemunor is now on his fifth NFL team. To date, he’s started 31 NFL games with 17 of those coming last season with the Raiders and most at right tackle.
Last season, Eluemunor allowed three sacks, three quarterback hits and 20 hurries, according to Pro Football Focus. And last season against the Steelers in Week 15, Eluemunor started and only allowed two hurries in that contest at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. Watt, in that game, was credited with a hit and two hurries in that game. In the 2021 meeting between the Steelers and the Raiders, Eluemunor started at right guard, so he saw a little bit of Watt in that game as well.
Outlook: Eluemunor obviously isn’t a household name when it comes to NFL right tackles. Even so, he played well enough last season to warrant getting the starting job for the Raiders in 2023. Despite Eluemunor holding his own against Watt in 2022, the 2023 matchup between the two players will be played on a September fast track in Las Vegas and not a frozen December field in Pittsburgh.
I would give the edge to Watt in this Week 3 matchup. Eluemunor is built more like a guard than a tackle and that’s yet another reason why I favor Watt in this Week 3 battle in Sin City. This is the kind of matchup that Watt should be expected to feast on.
Tytus Howard – Houston Texans – Week 4 – In Week 4 against the Texans in Houston, Watt figures to do battle against Howard, who was originally selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Alabama State. So far, Howard has started 54 games in the NFL with most of his playing time coming at right tackle. Last season, Howard allowed three sacks, five quarterback hits and 30 hurries, according to Pro Football Focus. His PFF pass blocking grade was 70.2.
Watt and Howard faced off once before in 2020 and the Steelers outside linebacker was the better of the two players in that contest. Watt was credited with a sack, three quarterback hits and a hurry in that 2020 game on just 25 rush opportunities.
Outlook: This Week 4 early October game in Houston will certainly be one that Watt looks forward to as his brother J.J. Watt is scheduled to be inducted into the Texans’ Ring of Honor as part of the festivities related to that Sunday contest. As noted above, Watt had a nice showing against Howard the one and only time the two players have faced each other and there’s no reason to think that the Steelers outside linebacker can’t repeat that performance, or even better it, in Week 4 in Houston with his family members all in attendance. Howard better rest well before this Week 4 game in Houston.
Previous Posts In This Series:
Two-A-Day Series: Right Tackles Steelers OLB T.J. Watt Likely To Face In 2023 – McKivitz, Conklin
