The last two seasons have been down years for Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt.
After leading the NFL in sacks with 19 in 2023, becoming the only player to lead the league in sacks three times, Watt has totaled just 18.5 over the last two seasons combined, including just seven sacks a year ago. Many have pointed to a defensive system that had grown stale and wasn’t diverse. The Steelers finished 2025 16th in defensive EPA per play, and the lack of movement for Watt, which has been constant
throughout his career, seemed to become a bigger issue as teams seemed to figure out how to slow him down at a higher rate.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Watt hinted that some of that was his stubbornness, but that movement along the defensive front can be expected in Patrick Graham’s new defense.
“I think in the past it was more about me being stubborn,” Watt said via Chris Halicke of DK Pittsburgh Sports. “I think [with] this new system… a lot of it is built in, so I really can’t say no. I have to move with it. A lot of us are interchangeable parts. You’re not just learning your position, you kind of have to learn the whole defensive front structure because we all are basically interchangeable. We can do different things [and] I think you’re going to see a lot more movement of not just me, but the whole front.”
The defense as a whole is something fans and media alike will have a close eye on all season, specifically at the beginning of the campaign to see the different nuances that Pittsburgh has lacked over the last number of years. If the movement around the line of scrimmage helps Watt turn back the clock, then it’s all for the better.
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