There will be a never-ending debate about the NFL’s best pass rusher. Some say it’s Myles Garrett. Others Micah Parsons. Pittsburgh Steelers fans will argue T.J. Watt. Convincing anyone of changing their opinion is a fruitless task. But if you want data from those who watch the tape, there’s few better than Brandon Thorn. A guru on all things offensive and defensive line related, Thorn issued his first 2023 “Sack Scores,” which quantifies the quality of a player’s sack in an effort to separate the great rushes from the coverage sacks.
Through the first weeks, Watt is pacing the field with easily the league’s best score, earning a seven despite “only” having six sacks this season. He received additional points for two of his sacks being strip-sacks, both coming in Week One against the San Francisco 49ers.
Per Thorn, here are the top five scores.
1. T.J. Watt – 7.0
2. Myles Garrett – 4.5
3. Rashan Gary – 4.0
4. Micah Parsons – 3.5
5. Three Players – 3.0
According to his charting, all six of Watt’s sacks this season can be deemed as “high quality” takedowns compared to the other categories of “low quality,” “coverage,” and “cleanup.” Compare that to Garrett, who has only three high-quality sacks with one low-quality rep and one cleanup sack.
He is generating a high-quality sack once every 17.3 pass rush attempts, second best on Thorn’s list and only trailing Gary’s 14.7 figure. Comparatively, Garrett sits at 25.7.
Breaking down his charting, Thorn adds this blurb on Watt.
“Watt has already exceeded his sack numbers through ten starts last season in just three games this year, and all have been HQ sacks, including two strip sacks. The battle for sack score leader this season should be the most competitive we have ever seen at the edge-rusher position now that Watt is back to his old self.”
Limited by injury a year ago, Watt finished 2022 with just 5.5 sacks. As Thorn points out, he’s already breezed past that number with six in the first three weeks, becoming the NFL’s first player to achieve that feat since Shaq Barrett in 2019. The official NFL record for most sacks over the first four weeks of a season is nine, held by three players, including Barrett. With a tasty matchup this Sunday against a bettered Houston Texans’ offensive line, it’s possible Watt reaches that mark.
Two other Steelers appear on Thorn’s list. Rounding out the chart is Markus Golden and Alex Highsmith, each with a sack score of 1.5. Golden has a pair of sacks while Highsmith has one, a strip-sack fumble on Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson that propelled the team to victory. Thorn gives each of them one high-quality sack.
