One day after being named a free agent the Pittsburgh Steelers “can’t afford to lose,” by Pro Football Focus, DT Armon Watts is featured on another PFF article.
This time as the Steelers’ “most improved” player in 2023.
Watts was brought in during free agency in 2023 on a one-year deal. He spent 2022 with the Chicago Bears and the previous three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings drafted him in 2019 in the sixth round. He has had some seasons where he has been more productive than in 2023, but according to PFF, the quality of his play took a jump in Pittsburgh in the limited snaps he received.
His 2022 PFF grade was 49.2 and his 2023 grade jumped all the way up to 76.2. Here is what PFF’s Zoltán Buday wrote:
“Defensive lineman Armon Watts joined the Steelers after playing in Chicago in 2022, and he earned a career-high run-defense grade. Watts could very well earn more playing time in 2024.”
As PFF’s previous article stated, the Steelers will first need to sign him to an extension. He will be free to negotiate with all teams around the league in March as an unrestricted free agent, but there shouldn’t be a huge market for him, and the Steelers could re-sign Watts before he hits the open market. Despite his improved play, he only logged 15 total tackles, six solo tackles, a half sack, and three quarterback hits in 15 games played in 2023.
Most of his playing time came as the result of injuries to other defensive linemen. Early in the season it was Cam Heyward with a groin injury that forced him to miss six games. Then it was Montravius Adams, who missed four games soon after Heyward returned with an ankle injury. He played about 22 snaps per game over that first portion of the season while the Steelers were dealing with injuries. This allowed rookie DT Keeanu Benton to ease into a larger role. By the end of the season, with a healthy Heyward and Adams, Watts was only logging a small handful of snaps per game.
With Adams also being a free agent, and one who played more in the important moments at the end of the season, the Steelers could opt to retain him instead while stocking the rest of the room with an external free agent or draft pick. Given how affordable Watts will likely be, he could easily be brought back to compete in training camp and cut later down the line if the Steelers land better options this offseason.
A pair of former Steelers also made PFF’s most improved list: ILB Robert Spillane of the Las Vegas Raiders and OG Kevin Dotson of the Los Angeles Rams. Spillane saw an increase in playing time this season and performed very well. He logged 148 total tackles, 82 solo tackles, 3.5 sacks, three interceptions, and a forced fumble. Dotson was moved back to his natural right guard position and also saw a big improvement in his play after struggling with the Steelers on the left side.
