T.J. Watt has been one of the NFL’s best edge rushers for most of his career. However, he’s been less effective in the last few years. He finished last season with only seven sacks in 14 games, and he had 11.5 sacks in 2024. Neither of those numbers meets the standard Watt has set for himself. However, new Steelers defensive coordinator Patrick Graham plans to get Watt back to his dominating ways.
“T.J., the opportunity to coach him, privilege,” Graham said Friday via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s YouTube channel. “Along with the other guys, I don’t want to single him out, but you asked about him. Productive, defensive MVP-caliber statistics every year. So far, all my interactions with him have been great.
“Serious about football, wants to get better, and puts the team first. I’m really, really excited. He’s one of the more disciplined, elite rushers that I’ve seen over my time in the league. Then, what we’re gonna bring to it in terms of some of the schematic stuff. Because they had such a good foundation here.”
While Graham didn’t go into detail on what the plan is for Watt, that could include moving him around the defense. Alex Highsmith hinted earlier this offseason that the Steelers will do that.
There’s been talk of Watt and Highsmith switching sides for the past few years, but the Steelers haven’t really followed through on that. However, with a new defensive coordinator they could get more creative with how they deploy their edge rusher, even beyond Watt.
Graham teased that during that same press conference when asked about the three-outside linebacker package that the Steelers used last year.
“It’s April. Trust me, we’ve got some stuff cooking,” he said.
Getting Watt, Highsmith, and Nick Herbig on the field at the same time sounds like a good idea. That was effective for the Steelers last year. The biggest issue with it was having all of those players healthy at the same time. Perhaps that could also help improve Watt’s down sack numbers.
Despite his down sack numbers, Watt has still been effective in other areas, such as run defense and forcing turnovers. However, they still need him to be an elite pass rusher. Teams have schemed Watt out of games, throwing multiple bodies at him in the form of double-teams or chip blocks. The Steelers have to figure out a way to counter that.
Also, Watt will turn 32 years old during this season, so he’s not getting any younger. Using him in different ways could help prolong his time as an effective pass rusher. He signed a big contract extension last year, so the Steelers have to figure out a way to effectively utilize him.
Dining and Cooking