Last Thursday, Aaron Donald appeared on the Green Light podcast and was asked who is the next guy up to be the dominant defensive player of the NFL. Donald, of course, held that distinction for nearly a decade with just about every accolade possible but called it a career after 10 seasons. He named Pittsburgh Steelers OLB T.J. Watt as that next guy as someone who has already been dominant for a long time. The Carton Show on FS1 discussed this opinion on Monday morning and former Steelers OL Willie Colon agreed with it.
“Hands down, by far,” Colon said. “I think he got robbed this year, and I think a lot of people would agree with that. He’s only three sacks away from having a hundred sacks. You understand he’s still a young man playing at an extremely high level.”
Watt had a historic year in 2023, becoming the first player to ever lead the league in sacks in three separate seasons. In 17 games, Watt logged 68 total tackles, 48 solo tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 36 QB hits, 19 sacks, eight passes defensed, one interception, one defensive touchdown, and four forced fumbles. He can do it all and showed that once again in 2023.
“This guy can not only wreck games, but he can score touchdowns,” Colon said. “When you put on the tape, he’s deflecting the ball, recovering a fumble, interceptions. There’s nothing he can’t do. And they triple, they double team, they do everything to stop this man and he produces.”
It must be pointed out that both Donald and Colon are Pittsburgh guys, so there might be a little bias involved, but it is not as if they are reaching with this conclusion. Watt joined Reggie White as the only players with 90.0 or more sacks in their first 100 career games last season. He has already captured the franchise record for a team that has been known for its pass rush and defensive play over the years.
It is a shame that Watt has just one Defensive Player of the Year award. Some may call it meaningless, but it does ultimately matter to a player’s legacy and how he is remembered in the long run. Donald, for example, has the distinction of winning it three times. Watt has just one with two occasions of being a close second in the voting.
This season, Watt will almost certainly surpass the 100-sack mark and even has a chance to surpass Donald’s career sack total of 111.0 with a 15-sack season. Regardless of who is the very best, the Steelers are very fortunate to have Watt on their roster. He makes their defense a threat to change the game every time he is on the field.
