The Pittsburgh Steelers rely heavily on star pass rusher, TJ Watt, to hold down the defense. Since entering the league, Watt has the most sacks of any defensive player in football. The Steelers as a whole are a completely different team when Watt is on the field. Pittsburgh is just 1-10 in games that Watt missed since he was drafted in 2017. The Steelers' defense has other stars like Cam Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alex Highsmith and Joey Porter Jr. to help Watt on the defensive side of the ball, but he has been pretty much a one-man show during his time in Pittsburgh.
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Pittsburgh Steelers' dominant edge rushers, TJ Watt (#90) and Alex Highsmith (#56) embrace each other after a big play against the Tennessee Titans at then-Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA.
Watt has led the NFL in sacks three times in his career, but has only won AP Defensive Player of the Year once when he tied the single-season sack record with 22.5 in 2021. Last season, Watt put up 19 sacks and was considered a snub for DPOY that was ultimately awarded to Cleveland Browns defensive end, Myles Garrett. There's no denying that Watt is the most important player the Steelers have, but an argument can be made for him being one of the most important players in the entire league.
Rich Eisen discussed how elite Watt is on The Rich Eisen Show when talking about the very early candidates for the 2024 DPOY Award. The current favorites to win are Watt and Micah Parsons. Eisen shared his opinion on who he thinks will take home the award and he was very clear.
"Oh, I think it's going to be T.J. Watt all the time."
Eisen then proceeded to give a little bit of context on why he's so confident that Watt will win the award.
"Listen, if T.J. Watt did what he did last year again, it'll be tough to deny."
If Watt puts up 19 sacks in 2024 and gets snubbed for a third time, we might have to seriously question what it takes to be named as the prestigious award winner. Not only does Watt consistently put up incredible statistics, but he's just extremely valuable to his team.
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Steelers' Cam Heyward and TJ Watt take a pause during the 2022 training camp.
The Steelers' Defense Shouldn't Have To Be As Dependent On Just Watt In 2024
General Manager Omar Khan went out and signed arguably the best middle linebacker available in Patrick Queen this offseason. Having an All-Pro defender in the middle of the field with the green dot on his helmet is something that Pittsburgh has been desperately needing the last few years. Queen should take some pressure off of the rest of the front seven this upcoming season.
Highsmith is also one of the better pass rushers in the league. He hasn't proven yet that he can reach Watt's status and he won't be expected to, but he has been great partnered up with Watt on the opposite side.
Nick Herbig showed flashes that he can become a dependable pass rusher in his rookie season. If Herbig can make a big leap heading into his second season, Watt can rotate more with Herbig to keep him healthy throughout the season. Not only can Herbig rotating with Watt benefit the Pittsburgh defense, but if Watt unfortunately goes down next season at any point, Herbig has the ability to step up and fill that void better than most team's third pass rusher could.
Associated Press
Steelers then-rookies Nick Herbig and Joey Porter Jr. are part of the best Pittsburgh draft class in years.
The Steelers' defense will hopefully be one of the league's best units next season, especially if the guys can stay healthy. If Watt stays healthy, puts up another monster season, and his team's defense is one of the best in football, there should be no reason why he wouldn't take home another DPOY Award.
Do you think Watt will win his second DPOY Award in 2024? Let us know in the comments below!
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