The Pittsburgh Steelers have a long and storied history, especially on the defensive side of the ball. They had the iconic "Steel Curtain" defense from the 1970s with Mean Joe Greene, and then the elite 2000s defense that helped them win two Super Bowls which was led by Troy Polamalu. Now, the defense is led by TJ Watt, who is one of the best players in the NFL and Watt was recently compared to Polamalu by Ike Taylor.
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Steelers star edge rusher, TJ Watt warms up on the playing surface at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA prior to a 2022 preseason game.
Steelers' Watt Compared to Polamalu
Polamalu is one of the best to ever play the safety position in NFL history, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in 2020, which was his first year of eligibility. He won the NFL's Defensive Player Of The Year Award in 2010, was an eight time Pro Bowler, and was named to an All-Pro team six times. Watt's career is on a similar trajectory, as he to is a perennial All-Pro player and was the recipient of the league's Defensive Player Of The Year Award in 2021.
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Steelers Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu celebrates pick six that propelled Steelers into Super Bowl XLIII.
On a recent episode of Taylor's podcast Bleav In Steelers, he and his co-host were talking about Watt's recent performance against the Los Angeles Rams and discussed how he has played so far this year. They commented on whether or not he deserves to win Defensive Player Of The Year for the second time in his career. Taylor went back to look at Watt's career stats, and was amazed.
"25 forced fumbles, 41 pass deflections. He plays outside linebacker. He has 41 pass deflections. This the part people don't understand. Cornerbacks have pass deflections, not outside linebackers. He has seven interceptions. He don't play corner, he don't play safety. He plays outside linebacker."
Taylor was in awe at how effective at stopping the pass Watt has been in his career, and not just by getting to the quarterback for a sack. He went on to talk about how rare it is to have a player with such great instincts in the passing game that plays at the line of scrimmage, rather than in the secondary.
"For me TJ is Troy Polamalu, just on the line of scrimmage. You don't find them kind of people, that instinctive, that close to the line of scrimmage. Lucky for Pittsburgh, we got him."
Taylor spoke more about Watt's instincts stating that he hits like a linebacker, covers like a corner, and has the instincts of a safety. Taylor and Polamalu played their entire careers together from 2003 through 2014, and Taylor now serves as a scout for Pittsburgh. Therefore he has spent a lot of time around both Watt and Polamalu, and is justified when saying he sees similarities between the two.
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Steelers former cornerback and now scouting staff member, Ike Taylor on the field during a game at then-Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA.
Since entering the league in 2017, Watt has constantly been compared to Myles Garrett because they were each drafted in the same year. He is also constantly compared to some of the other young pass rushers in the NFL like Nick Bosa and Micah Parsons. Taylor sees that as well and credits Garrett, Bosa, and Parsons for being such great pass rushers. However, none of them are as instinctual and versatile as Watt has been in his career.
"Them Nick Bosa's, them Micah Parson's, them Myles Garrett's, them guys we like. Those are guys that once they are on the line of scrimmage, you know they're going to get to the quarterback. But we're not saying Micah has seven interceptions. We're not saying Myles [has] seven interceptions."
All the players named by Taylor have consistently been some of the best pass rushers in the league. But so has Watt, and Watt has done way more than just sack the quarterback. Watt is consistently forcing fumbles, batting balls down at the line if scrimmage, and successfully getting to the quarterback. He is in a class of his own when it comes to the NFL's elite defenders.
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