It was an offseason of change for the Pittsburgh Steelers. New quarterbacks, new linebackers, a revamped offensive line, and a new offensive coordinator all came to Pittsburgh this offseason. With that level of change, OLB T.J. Watt is looking to take on more of a leadership role. Watt told Kay Adams on her Up & Adams show before practice today that he’s working on becoming a leader in 2024 and that a big part of that is due to the new faces on the team.
“I think leadership is always a thing where I’m trying to continue to grow, especially, like I said before, we have so many new guys coming from all different teams. Whether they’re young or veterans, it’s trying to adapt and try to help those guys and help myself become a better leader for this team so we can continue to make those playoff pushes and hopefully those wins.”
Watt has been with the Steelers since the team drafted him in 2017, so he knows how things operate in Pittsburgh. By taking on a bigger leadership role, he can show that to all the new faces across the board. As the best player on the team, he’s also someone that players, especially on the defensive side of the ball, will turn to for advice.
Watt’s turn into a bigger leadership role took shape this summer when he worked out with Nick Herbig for two weeks, and it seems as if Watt has taken Herbig, also a former Wisconsin Badger, under his wing a little bit. But it extends beyond Herbig and to the defense as a whole, and Watt taking on a broader leadership role within Pittsburgh’s defense is only going to be a good thing.
DL Cameron Heyward is another great leader on Pittsburgh’s defense, and having Watt be a louder voice in the room should amplify the defense as a whole. The Steelers aren’t lacking leadership in the locker room. Even new guys like Russell Wilson and Patrick Queen have good leadership traits, but you can never have enough leaders, and Watt is continuing to grow in that role and put the team first.
He also told Adams he’s not worried about his individual numbers and just wants playoff success. As he said, being a leader can help the team continue to push through the grind of the season, especially with the difficult back half of Pittsburgh’s schedule, where they’ll play six games against their three AFC North opponents in their final eight games.
Playoff success for the Steelers is crucial this season, and hopefully, Watt can embrace the leadership role and push guys to work to make a push and win a playoff game for the first time since 2016.
