Fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers know T.J. Watt has arguably been the best pass-rusher in the league for the past few years, but sometimes it feels like national media doesn’t give him the respect he’s earned, especially when it comes time to vote on the Defensive Player of the Year award. There have been multiple times where it’s felt like Watt was snubbed for the award, with Watt making some not-so-veiled comments about the matter as well. However, numbers don’t lie, and they say that Watt has dominated in every season when he’s been healthy. One major analyst did do a recent breakdown of Watt, though, and his major takeaways will be music to Steelers fans’ ears.
Daniel Jeremiah is NFL Network’s lead draft analyst and one of their most respected employees. On the most recent episode of his podcast, Move the Sticks, which he co-hosts with fellow analyst Bucky Brooks, Jeremiah broke down five of the best pass rushers in the NFL last year. Going in order of sack total meant Jeremiah started with Watt, giving a glowing endorsement of Watt’s unique style.
”The vast majority of his wins come with him getting off the ball, creating a really, really short corner. Some of these guys get up the field and then try and turn, but he will go right at your outside shoulder,” Jeremiah said on Watt. “He’s able to make that a real short corner. He can dip, and rip, and flatten. That is his hallmark there. Early wins. It is over right away. That is his go-to, and it works nine times out of ten.”
That ability is certainly evident when watching Watt, as he will more often than not shoot off the line of scrimmage and attack instantly, using his combination of speed and power to tear through offensive tackles. Jeremiah’s analysis paints a picture of Watt as a master of one rather than a Jack of all trades. He goes on to break down the two major points he came away with after studying Watt.
”One, he wins primarily the same way, with speed, short corner, flatten and finish. And number two, as you would expect with his name and his reputation, not a lot of layups, not a lot of gimmes in there.”
It seems that, besides Watt’s ability to consistently win with the same move, the thing that stuck out the most to Jeremiah was how much Watt had to work for all of his sacks. There weren’t many blown protections or miscommunications that left Watt unblocked on his way to the quarterback. This shows that other teams know how much of a game-wrecker Watt is, and they know they need to constantly put pressure on him. Fans can probably recall at least one time when they saw Watt get double-teamed and still somehow managed to come away with a sack. Based on Jeremiah’s findings, you’ll find more of those than you will “easy” sacks.
Jeremiah continued on by comparing Watt to one of the best pass-rushers of the last decade because of the way they wins against offensive linemen.
”You know who we’ve never compared him to, but who there are more similarities the more you study him? There is some Von Miller there, where Von could just win that same way over and over and over again.”
That’s certainly high praise, considering Miller is one of the best defensive players of his generation, as well as a future Hall of Famer. Miller and Watt do have similarities in their game, as Jeremiah says. Both win with a lot of speed, using their long arms to rip around tackles. Hopefully, Watt can help lead the Steelers to a Super Bowl like Miller did with the Broncos.
Jeremiah finished his thoughts on Watt by comparing him to another Hall of Fame player, but this time from baseball.
”The T.J. Watt category is the Mariano Rivera category. You’re getting the cutter. You can’t do anything about it. You know it’s coming, you’re getting it, and you can’t stop it.”
Rivera is the best closer to ever play baseball and won most of his battles with one signature pitch. Watt has been the closer for the Steelers for most of his career, ending many stressful games with a timely sack or forced fumble. While much of the time, it can feel like Watt isn’t as respected as he should be, perhaps that’s because of the nature of his game. It isn’t flashy, but it gets the job done when you need it to.
Watt will surely be looking more toward capturing a championship than an individual award this season, especially with him saying he’s beginning to feel his age. Miller led one of the best defenses of all time to a Super Bowl victory, and Rivera helped the Yankees capture multiple championships thanks to his ability to step up in big moments. With those comparisons from Jeremiah, Watt is put in elite company. The only thing he’s missing is a championship, and while it might not be this season, perhaps Watt can lead the Steelers back to the promised land sooner rather than later.
