For a guy with 108 sacks, one Defensive Player of the Year award and is now the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history, T.J. Watt has it made at this point in his career.
That doesn’t mean he’s resting on his laurels. In fact, in training camp entering his age-31 season, Watt is taking advantage of the reps against second-year offensive tackle Troy Fautanu in Latrobe to make improvements to his own game as a pass rusher.
During an appearance with Pat Kirwan and Jim Miller of Movin’ the Chains on SiriusXM NFL Radio Friday night from Latrobe Memorial Stadium, Watt stated that he’s having a lot of fun going up against the big, athletic right tackle, trying new things in an effort to improve.
“Yeah, I think the cool thing about training camp is trying new things and seeing what works, what’s effective. And I think those guys are doing a great job of trying to jump-set us at times, trying to find different angles at it,” Watt said of facing young offensive tackles like Fautanu, according to audio via SiriusXM. “And for me it’s awesome because Troy’s a young guy, comes from college. I go up against a lot of young tackles at times, but he’s very, very athletic.
“He’s not that giant oversized tackle that can’t move. So it’s a lot of fun for me to be able to be able to go up against him and get his feet moving. And it challenges me every day.”
Coming off a tough season based on his own standards with just 11.5 sacks and 56 pressures, Watt is aiming to get back to his dominant ways as a pass rusher. He’s going to move around a bit more than he has in the past, which should give him different matchup advantages. That will help him avoid chips and double teams, too.
In the process, he might also have some new moves to break out. Facing off against Fautanu, he’s trying different things and honing his craft. Iron is sharpening iron for the Steelers. Watt has had some success, but it’s also been encouraging that Fautanu has been up to the challenge. Head coach Mike Tomlin praised Fautanu for holding his own so far in camp, too.
After missing most of his rookie season with a knee injury, there’s a lot riding on Fautanu to be a key pillar of the young offensive line. Going against a player of Watt’s caliber daily will only help in that development process.
If Fautanu can handle what Watt throws at him at a successful rate, Sundays in the NFL should be easier for him to adjust to because chances are he won’t see many better week to week than Watt.
