It’s no secret of the greatness of Pittsburgh Steelers’ outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, both individually and collectively.
Individually, the two are game-wreckers in their own right. Watt already has one NFL Defensive Player of the Year award to his name and is tied for the most sacks in a single season with 22.5. Highsmith had a career-high 14.5 sacks last season and earned a lucrative four-year extension this offseason.
Together, the pairing is arguably the best pass-rush tandem in football. They are also one of the most valuable tandems in football, as the two landed in the top 10 of the “most valuable” edge defenders in the NFL from Pro Football Focus Friday, based on PFF WAR.
PFF WAR assigns a value to players based on a number of calculations, similar to WAR in baseball. You can read more about PFF WAR here.
Watt comes in at No. 5 on the list from PFF with a PFF WAR of 0.42, behind the likes of San Francisco’s Nick Bosa, Dallas’ Micah Parsons, Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, and Las Vegas’ Maxx Crosby.
“Tied with Aidan Hutchinson and Trey Hendrickson for the fourth-highest PFF pass-rushing grade among edge defenders this season at 90.2, Watt has racked up 65 total pressures from 446 pass-rushing snaps. He has picked up 29 combined sacks and quarterback hits, and he has also forced three fumbles,” PFF writes regarding Watt and his value.
Watt has been a force this season. Along with his impressive 90.2 pass rush grade from PFF, he has a 91.0 overall grade from PFF, including an 81.5 against the run and a 78.5 in coverage. He can do it all, whether it’s playing the run, dropping into coverage and making a big play in coverage for an interception, or changing the game as a pass rusher.
Consistency is a big thing with Watt, too. He has at least two pressures in every game he’s played this season, and has at least a half a sack in all but three games on the year. His pass rush win rate might not be all that high (9.7%), but he gets home consistently, which is much better than others can say. He remains a star.
Then, there’s Highsmith. The fourth-year pro checks in at No. 10 in the most valuable edge rankings. He and Watt are one of just two tandems on the list, with Dallas’ Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence (N0. 9) in the top 10. Highsmith has a PFF WAR of 0.31.
“Highsmith is a good all-round player, the perfect complement to a player like Watt in Pittsburgh,” PFF writes regarding Highsmith. “He has registered 51 total pressures from 392 pass-rushing snaps. His 81.2 run-defense grade also ranks seventh at his position, and he has missed just 6.4% of the tackles he has attempted this season.”
Highsmith is outstanding opposite Watt. The sack numbers might not be there this season —just 6.0 on the season — but he’s getting pressure at a consistent rate and disrupting games. Plus, he’s a very good run defender and really sets the edge well.
PFF has him charted for three missed tackles on the season, but here at Steelers Depot, where we chart missed tackles every game, Highsmith has yet to record a miss. One of the few players defensively to not have a missed tackle this season for the Steelers.
The Steelers have good depth behind Highsmith and Watt in veteran Markus Golden and rookie Nick Herbig, but neither of those two can truly replace Watt and Highsmith for extended stretches, should that need arise.
That’s a testament to how great — and how valuable — the two stars are.
