The Pittsburgh Steelers pass rush duo of EDGE Alex Highsmith and EDGE T.J. Watt has been dubbed Batman and Robin by head coach Mike Tomlin. Watt is Batman and Highsmith is Robin, but Robin is no slouch by any means. Wat, while on SiriusXM NFL Radio with Pat Kirwan and Jim Miller Friday night, sang the praises of Highsmith, saying that his breakout season last year was only a matter of time.
“I mean Alex, he’s always had the tools and he’s always had the hunger and the want to factor,” said Watt. “It was just finishing plays. And if you go back and watch film of him two years ago, he had really good rushes, it was just a matter of finishing at the quarterback and that was the difference this past season. He was able to finish and cause force fumbles and create havoc.”
Highsmith has flashed potential since his rookie season but never had a year like last season. In 2022 Highsmith had 14.5 sacks and forced a league-high five forced fumbles. He was truly a game wrecker.
As a young player Highsmith had to learn to finish plays, and Watt believes him learning how to do so was the reason for his huge uptick in stats. Highsmith went from six sacks in 2021 to 14.5 last year.That is a big jump and, according to Steelers Depot’s own Josh Carney, there is a bit more going on than just finishing plays.
According to Carney’s “Missed Tackles Report” article at the end of the 2021 season, Highsmith failed to finish on only one sack attempt. If he didn’t miss on that one sack, he would’ve finished the year with seven, which is still less than half he had last year. In fact, according to Carney, Highsmith missed out on two sacks last year, so his sack number should have been even higher.
While Highsmith was showing flashes as a rookie and in Year Two, he really took the jump last season. Highsmith always showed the potential off being a good player but last year he put it all together. It doesn’t feel or seem like last year was a flash in the pan either. Highsmith can be a double-digit sack guy for quite some time, especially since he is paired with a game-wrecker in Watt.
Another aspect of Highsmith’s game that is kind of overlooked is his ability to force fumbles. His five last year led the NFL, and the ability to not only sack the quarterback, but also potentially take the ball away is invaluable. Not every pass rusher can do that, yet Highsmith excels at that. Obviously a sack is nice, but taking the ball away is even nicer. His combined ability to get after the quarterback and then take the ball away makes him a special player.
Last year, Highsmith put it all together. If he can continue doing so, he and Watt will be remembered as one of the best pass-rush duos in Steelers’ history.
