The Pat McAfee Show descended upon Saint Vincent College for Pittsburgh Steelers training camp today, and with the show came its boisterous fan base for a live audience. T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward were McAfee’s two first guests of the show, and Watt’s presence caused quite the scene. Watt versus Myles Garrett has become a familiar debate among Steelers and Cleveland Browns fans, and Pittsburgh took advantage of the national audience on ESPN to send a message.
“Fuck Myles Garrett,” spontaneously broke out in a repetitive chant in the background. That chant was quickly followed up by “T.J.’s Better.”
Drafted the same year in 2017, Garrett and Watt have been the gold standard of pass rushers for most of the past decade. Each of them has earned a Defensive Player of the Year honor, and Watt was probably snubbed at least one other time for that prestigious award. Notably, he was snubbed the year that Garrett ultimately won for the 2023 NFL season.
The two players will forever be linked, and that only got more obvious this offseason as each reset the EDGE market with record-breaking contracts. Garrett set the bar at $40 million per season and Watt broke that record recently with a $41 million average per year.
Most analysts and experts seem to be giving a definitive edge to Garrett these days, but there are plenty of reasons to believe Watt can bounce back in 2025. He seems to be in the best shape of his life for one. And he should be playing with the most talented defense of his career. It’s not going to be easy to give Watt the type of attention he was getting last season as the most-chipped defender in the league by opposing offenses.
The Steelers have also shown a willingness to move Watt around the defensive front. He traditionally has played the overwhelming majority of his snaps on the left side of the defense, but they have already been experimenting with other alignments at training camp.
The 2025 season could very well be another where the top two defensive player of the year candidates are Watt and Garrett.
