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T.J. Watt has been a terror for opposing quarterbacks and the offensive personnel tasked with blocking him since the Pittsburgh Steelers selected him in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Even though he only played in 10 games last season after sustaining a pectoral injury in the first game of the season, Watt still managed to sack the quarterback 5.5 times. While the injury might have hampered him statistically, Gilberto Manzano of SI.com still has Watt as the sixth-best defensive lineman in the NFL.
Some may balk at Watt being included on such a list since he played as a 3-4 outside linebacker, but for simplicity, Manzano grouped all edge rushers into the defensive linemen category for the purposes of this list. So what did Manzano have to say about Watt?
“Not only does Watt, 28, have the stats to be regarded as one of the best edge rushers of the past decade, his list of accolades rivals what the top two names on the list have achieved,” Manzano wrote. “Watt is a three-time first-team All-Pro selection and was named Defensive Player of the Year in ’21.”
So if Watt’s accomplishments rival the top two names on Manzano’s list, why is he sixth? According to the writer’s rankings, Watt just beat out seventh-place lineman Quinnen Williams with the New York Jets, who had a career-high 12 sacks in 2022. Beating Watt for fifth place was the Kansas City Chiefs’ Chris Jones, who had 15.5 sacks last season.
Both of those players had standout seasons in 2022 while Watt’s numbers pale in comparison without the context of the injury. Obviously, Watt rebounded from his injury well, but it likely was enough for Manzano to position him just outside the top five.
As for the top two players on the list that Manzano drew comparisons to in Watt’s writeup? In second place is one of the best to ever play on the interior of a defensive line, the Los Angeles Rams’ Aaron Donald. He missed time last season, much like Watt, but it’s hard to argue that Donald isn’t still one of the best in the game today thanks to his seven first-team All-Pro nods and nine Pro Bowl appearances.
As for who supplanted Donald as Manzano’s top defensive lineman in the NFL, he gave the nod to Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers. He had 18.5 sacks in 2022 alone, earning him a second-straight Pro Bowl appearance and the Defensive Player of the Year award.
So while Watt’s 2022 season came up short from a statistical perspective, his body of work is capable of standing up to just about anyone in the NFL. After all, Watt has 77.5 career sacks, the most of any player in the league since he joined the league. It’s no small surprise that the Steelers’ best stretch of last season came with a healthy Watt. In the 10 games that Watt was healthy in 2022, the Steelers won eight games and lost only twice. They finished the season with a 9-8 record, meaning that when Watt was sidelined, Pittsburgh was 1-6.
That stat alone demonstrates the value that Watt has to the Steelers’ defense. With him healthy for 2023, perhaps he will find himself among Donald and Bosa in the rankings.
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