There’s been a bit of a rivalry within the rivalry for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns over the last few seasons. Both drafted in 2017, T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett have been neck and neck as two of the top edge rushers in the league. Just last season, Garrett received the AP Defensive Player of the Year Award despite Watt having better statistics in most categories. That didn’t stop CBS Sports from naming Watt the No. 1 edge rusher for the 2024 season in Cody Benjamin’s recent leaguewide rankings at the position.
“Myles Garrett has technically been steadier over the last half decade, if only because an injury limited Watt to 10 games in 2022. In every other way, though, No. 90 on the Steelers has been the standard-setter for edge rushing, and it’s not particularly close,” Benjamin wrote. “Clearing 13 sacks in each of his last five healthy seasons, with close to 30 forced fumbles and 200 quarterback hits in his vaunted career, the six-time Pro Bowler is the heart of Pittsburgh’s old-school program, pairing elite get-off with jarring physicality. If he’s on the field, Watt is easily the most feared player at his position.”
It is refreshing for Watt to receive this deserved praise after many others have attempted to paint the edge-rusher rankings in a different light. Since 2019, T.J. Watt has received votes for Defensive Player of the Year in every season but 2022 when he dealt with injuries. He won in 2021 after tying the single-season sack record at 22.5, and he was the first runner-up in both 2020 and 2023.
He should cruise right past the 100-sack mark in 2024 as he continues to leave his mark on the NFL history book. With just 3.5 sacks to go, he has a chance to tie Lawrence Taylor (106 games) as the second fastest player to ever reach that mark. If not, he should pretty safely come in as the third fastest.
Watt became the only player in league history to lead the NFL in sacks in three individual seasons last year, and he could very well do that again in 2024. The defense around him is better, particularly in the secondary, which should allow him that extra half second to get home with his pass rush as receivers take longer to get open.
Garrett came in at No. 2 on the list, followed by Nick Bosa, Micah Parsons, and Maxx Crosby.
Alex Highsmith also made the list at No. 19, Benjamin citing his eight forced fumbles, 27.5 sacks and 35 tackles for loss as impressive statistics worthy of making the list. He actually underperformed his pressure totals from a season ago, producing a career-high 69 pressures with just seven sacks. If he keeps up that level of disruption, the sack totals should follow.
The Steelers have had one of the best edge rushing tandems in the league for the last couple seasons, and that should continue in 2024.
