T.J. Watt had a quiet end to last season, but that shouldn’t take away from his dominance. Since being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2017, Watt has consistently been one of the best pass rushers in the league. When the Steelers need a big play, Watt usually answers the call. Because of that, analyst Gregg Rosenthal listed him as the 23rd best player in the NFL of the past 25 years.
“Defensive Player of the Year, top four in the voting four straight years, the last four years. Four All-Pros,” Rosenthal said recently on his podcast NFL Daily. “The most sacks since he’s entered the league, the most forced fumbles by far since he’s entered the league, the most tackles-for-loss since he’s entered the league. The most sacks in his first eight seasons, other than Reggie White and DeMarcus Ware.
“Single-season sack record led the league in sacks three times. And I just thought about, what are we talking about here? I’m talking about players at the very top of their game. Even though I feel a little lower than consensus on T.J. Watt in general, I realize, not only is he a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he deserves to make this list.”
When you look at Watt’s accolades, it’s hard to leave him off. While 23 might seem low, consider all of the amazing players that have come through the NFL since 2000. A lot of all-time greats have come and gone, but Watt beats out many of them to make Rosenthal’s list.
As a pass rusher, when your name is mentioned alongside Reggie White, you’ve achieved an incredible status. In eight seasons, Watt has recorded 108 sacks, 33 forced fumbles, and 126 tackles-for-loss. He has the 31st most sacks in NFL history, and will climb that list even more this season, including the opportunity to pass big brother J.J. Watt. Seven sacks will top him.
Despite all of that, Watt’s future in Pittsburgh is unclear. He’s in the middle of a contract dispute, and it doesn’t seem like a resolution is coming any time soon. While it feels most likely that Watt will remain with the Steelers, no deal is done yet, and perhaps that could lead to him landing with a new team.
Looking at how incredible Watt has it been, it seems silly to suggest that the Steelers shouldn’t pay him. They want to be as competitive as possible this year, and trading Watt wouldn’t help them do that. Yes, he had a down season last year, but he was still incredible.
A down year for Watt would be a career year for most other players. That’s the level that he’s on at this point, and part of the reason why he made Rosenthal’s list. The bar for Watt is high because that’s where he’s set it at. That’s also why he deserves a huge contract extension from the Steelers. Choosing not to pay him would create more problems than it solves.
