Where T.J. Watt ranks among the NFL’s best pass rushers seems to be up for interpretation, stats be damned.
But as long as he’s in the top five somewhere, there isn’t much of a problem.
That’s where Jacksonville outside linebacker Josh Allen has Watt ranked. Appearing on the “Third and Long” podcast with new teammate and Jaguars defensive lineman Arik Armstead, Allen ranked Watt inside his top five pass rushers and said that his rip/run through move is “deadly.”
“And then T.J., he’s gonna give you the same thing. That club rip, that rep that rip/run through is deadly,” Allen said, according to video via the show’s YouTube page.
Watt isn’t the flashiest pass rusher, that’s for sure. He’s not going to make highlight reels for superhuman strength or speed or be talked about like some comic book hero (you know who I’m referencing). What he does though is produce time and time again.
He has honed his craft, perfecting the club/rip, the rip and run, the ghost and the speed rush around the edge. Offensive linemen know what’s coming, and yet they still can’t stop him.
It’s no coincidence he led the NFL — again — in all the major pass-rush stats, especially sacks. Yet, he lost out on a second NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, which was a bit of a sham, if we’re being honest.
His peers know how great he is though.
Even Armstead piped up on Watt in Allen’s rankings.
“I seen it in person. I seen it in person, too. He had three sack against us last year,” Armstead said, referencing Watt’s Week 1 performance against the 49ers last season. “I’m like, ‘That boy good. That boy good.'”
Watt, as Armstead said, is very good. He’s on a Hall of Fame trajectory, already owns the Steelers’ all-time sacks record, might even own the NFL’s single-season sacks record based on latest information unearthed, and has reached rare air when it comes to rushing the passer in the NFL. He registered at least 19 sacks in a season for the second time in his career in 2023, becoming just the fourth player in NFL history to achieve that, joining DeMarcus Ware, Mark Gastineau, and brother, J.J. Watt.
Despite the jaw-dropping numbers and the consistent production, there is a sort of anti-Watt agenda that largely comes from the advanced analytics community, putting him behind names like Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons and Maxx Crosby, despite Watt outproducing them.
It’s generated quite a bit of discussion in recent years. Fortunately, Allen didn’t do that here. He gave Watt his flowers and called his moves “deadly.” Opposing offensive tackles and quarterbacks know all too well what Allen means regarding Watt.
