In the first eight games of the 2023 season, Pittsburgh Steelers’ fourth-year pass rusher Alex Highsmith is putting together quite an impressive season, even if the sack numbers aren’t there — yet.
Just a few months removed from signing a four-year, $68 million extension with the Steelers, Highsmith has continued to ascend as a pass rusher. So far this season, Highsmith has 49 total pressures, good for third in the NFL and is coming off of a two-sack game on Thursday Night Football against the Tennessee Titans.
That has former NFL defensive tackle and six-time Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy showing the former third-round pick some love on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football Tuesday. In a segment highlighting the top five most underrated pass rushers in the NFL this season, McCoy slotted Highsmith in at No. 4.
“Alex Highsmith, listen: 49 QB pressures this season. That’s third in the NFL. All these phenomenal rushers. He’s third in the NFL in pressures,” McCoy said, according to video via NFL.com. “Four-and-a-half sacks this season. He had two sacks in Week Nine, 14-and-a-half sacks last year when T.J. Watt was injured. This guy can ball.
“He gets after the quarterback, and you can argue this is a top three tandem pass rusher group in the league. Alex Highsmith, wanted to give you a little love.”
Highsmith certainly can ball, and he’s showing it time and time again this season.
Against the Titans, Highsmith generated 11 pressures, doing so for the second time this season. He had 11 pressures in the Week Five win over the Baltimore Ravens, a game he helped win with a late strip-sack that T.J. Watt recovered, leading to a Chris Boswell field goal and a 17-10 lead late in the fourth quarter.
Coming off of a 14.5-sack season in 2022, Highsmith was expected to take that next leap forward at the position. The sack numbers haven’t come yet, but he’s generating pressure at an elite level and is inside the top 15 highest-graded edge defenders in football, per Pro Football Focus.
He remains a high-level run defender, too. Highsmith is rounding into the complete package at the position, which should be downright scary for offenses. He might be under the radar nationally, but each and every week teams know how dangerous he is.
