T.J. Watt. James Harrison. Greg Lloyd. Kevin Greene. Jack Ham. The list of decorated Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebackers goes on and on. The Steelers added another talented one in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, selecting Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer. On the first day of Pittsburgh’s rookie minicamp, Sawyer acknowledged that outside linebacker in Pittsburgh is not just another position.
“It’s exciting for me because it’s a standard to uphold. Obviously I’ve got three really good players in my room too, and I’m just excited to come in, put my head down and work and do anything I can to help the team and learn from those guys as much as I can,” Sawyer said via video posted to Twitter by TribLive’s Chris Adamski.
As Sawyer said, there’s no shortage of talent at OLB in Pittsburgh right now. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig are all talented players and guys Sawyer can learn from as he begins his NFL journey.
Sawyer likely won’t make a huge impact immediately on defense, and while he should be a core special teamer, he should still see 5-10 snaps a game on defense. That will be important to spell the guys ahead of him, especially with Highsmith and Herbig missing multiple games last season due to injuries and Watt getting banged up throughout the year.
It takes a certain attitude to play on the Steelers’ defense, and it seems as if Sawyer has the right mentality and recognizes the position he’s in to potentially add his name to a long list of standouts who came before him. He seems eager to learn from the players who are ahead of him, and that’s a mentality that should serve him well as he develops.
It’s going to be an uphill battle for Sawyer to reach the upper echelon of Pittsburgh’s historic outside linebacker hierarchy, and he recognizes the challenge ahead of him and seems to be embracing it.
While an outside linebacker wasn’t a super pressing need for the Steelers in the draft, Jack Sawyer is a solid No. 4 option who can set the edge well against the run and provides some ability to rush the passer with his power. Cameron Heyward recently expressed his excitement about the room with the Sawyer addition.
If he can show that he’s capable of holding his own, he could wind up being an important player for the Steelers as they look to keep Watt and Highsmith healthy for 17 games without seeing a major drop in production when they’re off the field. It’s a challenge that Sawyer is ready to take on to prove his worth to Pittsburgh.
