In an article released June 25th, Pro Football Focus released their list for the top 50 players in the NFL for this upcoming season. Although each selection on this list is backed up with data, there is always someone who should be higher or lower.
Among those named were two Pittsburgh Steelers, T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward.
Starting with Watt, he was ranked the 11th best player in the NFL. Coming off a season where he put up incredible numbers, it makes sense to put him this high on the list as he was the leader for the dominant pass-rush put out by the Steelers last year. According to PFF, Watt has earned the highest overall PFF grade among all edge rushers the past two years with a grade of 92.6 as well as the best pass-rushing grade of 92.2 as well. The way that PFF comes up with these grades is by watching each snap of every game of a player and assigning a grade to these plays to determine the best player at each position. Watt ranked as the second best edge defender coming into the season behind Chicago Bears edge rusher Khalil Mack, who fell into the sixth-ranked spot among the top 50 player board. There is absolutely an argument to be made for who should be placed be higher than the other though as both players have performed well for multiple years in a row. However, I will not approach that argument in this piece for fear of my life from the fans of the black and gold.
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As for the other veteran defensive lineman in Heyward, he was placed in the 31st spot on the list. In his 149 games as a Steeler, Heyward has cemented himself as one of the best interior defensive lineman not only for the Steelers, but in the NFL. He has also been the highest PFF graded interior lineman besides Aaron Donald, PFF's 1st ranked player, since 2019. Since 2018, Heyward has been named to 3 Pro Bowl teams and one First-Team All-Pro selection in 2019.
As for other members of the Steelers who did not make the list such as JuJu Smith-Schuster, there is definitely some motivation for these top-level players who want to make their name among those players who are regarded as the top in the league. Hopefully for the player's sake, this upcoming season can become one that allows for excellence for the black and gold.
Can you make the case for one of the Steelers being put higher on this list? Comment below!
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