When it comes to all things trench play, few are more credible evaluators than Brandon Thorn. As he’s done for the last several years, Thorn unveiled his rankings of the best EDGE rushers and defensive linemen in football and it included three Steelers on the list. They are.
EDGE Rusher
T.J. Watt: 5th-Best
Alex Highsmith: 20th-Best
Interior D-Line
Cam Heyward: 5th-Best
Neither Steelers fans nor the players themselves, will be too happy with these rankings. It’s important to note Watt was the fifth and final name included in the “Elite” tier. He’s coming off an injury-plagued 2022 campaign, most notably a partially torn pec but he also battled thumb and knee injuries. He ranks behind Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, Nick Bosa, and Maxx Crosby.
Thorn offered a blurb for each player. On Watt, he wrote:
“Watt’s inclusion at the bottom of tier one is a nod to his track record of production (DPOY in 2021) while also factoring in him being his usual disruptive self on film and the expectation that he will return to this level when back at full health.”
He should get back into the mix of challenging for the NFL sack-lead. Watt is also likely to end the year as the Steelers’ franchise sack leader, surpassing James Harrison. It’s more of an open question if he or Cam Heyward will break the mark first.
Highsmith is coming off a breakout season, finishing 2022 with 14.5 sacks and five forced fumbles, the former number sixth in the league, the latter tied for tops in the NFL. Thorn included him in the “Good/Average” category.
“The former small-school third rounder has blossomed into an underrated, quality number two edge-rusher thanks to his outstanding get-off with two dynamic go-to moves in his inside spin and ghost techniques.”
We’ve written about Highsmith’s inside spin counter many times before, though offensive tackles began to counter late in the year. This summer, Highsmith has been toying with moves off it, including an outside spin and a fake spin, beginning to turn inside before rotating outside and gaining the edge. It should be a fun chess match to watch during the regular season.
Finally, Heyward was placed fifth among interior linemen in the “Very Good” category. Aaron Donald was the lone name in the “Elite” group. Heyward is coming off a 10.5 sack campaign, the second-most sacks he’s ever had in a single season, and doesn’t look to be slowing down. Here’s what Thorn wrote on him.
“Heyward is a bull in a china shop on the field with the expected savviness of an All-Pro 12-year vet with 148 starts under his belt.”
Thorn said Heyward was tied with Washington’s Jonathan Allen but lost the tiebreaker due to him being older than Allen. Some wonder if Heyward will slow down and at some point, he will, but his motor looks as strong as ever even at 34 years old.
Be sure to check out the entire list of names below. There’s few better than Thorn, even if his rankings of these Steelers won’t have fans thrilled.
