T.J. Watt used to be the guy offensive coordinators game-planned around. Now some people around the league think he’s just another really good player — not the dominant force he was a few years ago.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler dropped his annual edge rusher rankings, and Watt fell from second to seventh. That’s a significant slide for a guy who once held the single-season sack record. An AFC executive told Fowler flat out: “Definitely in decline. He’s still very good. But some of the younger players have surpassed him.”
That’s a tough quote to shrug off. Another source pointed to the physical toll: “He can win with his high motor and his flair for the big play, but the burst and get-off isn’t the same as it was as a result of lower-body injuries.”
Who jumped him?
Myles Garrett stayed at No. 1 after setting the Browns’ sack record. Then came Micah Parsons, Maxx Crosby, Will Anderson Jr., Aidan Hutchinson and Danielle Hunter. That’s five pass rushers who are either younger or healthier or both.
Watt turned 32 in October. He played 14 games last year and managed just seven sacks. Still made the Pro Bowl, but the All-Pro voting told a different story — for only the second time in eight years, he didn’t make either of the top two teams. That’s the kind of thing that sticks with voters.
The Steelers are stuck
Pittsburgh isn’t exactly loaded with other threats on the line, which means Watt gets doubled and chipped and held (sometimes literally) on almost every snap. Without another disruptive defensive lineman to take attention away, he’s fighting through extra bodies constantly. That wears on anybody.
Mike McCarthy is taking over on the sideline after Mike Tomlin’s historic run ended. Aaron Rodgers is coming back for a second year. The offense might be better, but the defense is leaning on an aging star who — according to the people who scout and scheme against him — isn’t what he used to be.
If the Steelers were to start a rebuild, Watt would be the first name called about in trade talks. He’d bring back a haul. But Pittsburgh seems intent on running it back with this core, even if the best version of Watt is in the rearview mirror.
Watt is still good. That’s not really the question. The question is whether “still good” is good enough when the AFC is loaded with pass rushers who are faster, younger and hitting their prime right now.
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