![\"T.J.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2255987919.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport ranked T.J. Watt and the Pittsburgh Steelers defense at No. 10 on his defensive power rankings.<\/p>\n
The Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> lost their defensive-minded head coach this offseason. They are also coming off arguably their worst defensive season in a generation.<\/p>\n Yet, the Steelers defense is still getting plenty of respect from Bleacher Report this spring.<\/p>\n On June 4, BR NFL analyst Gary Davenport ranked the top 10 NFL defenses after the Myles Garrett<\/a> trade. The Steelers cracked the list at No. 10.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter some offseason additions the Steelers appear primed for a big-time rebound [on defense],\u201d wrote Davenport<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he\u2019s healthy and close to 100 percent, T.J. Watt<\/a> remains one of the most feared edge-rushers in the game. Fellow edge rushers Alex Highsmith<\/a> and Nick Herbig combined for 17 sacks last season, and the ageless Cameron Heyward was a second-team All-Pro inside.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the back end, the team already had cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey<\/a> (who made his eighth Pro Bowl on the heels of a career-high 88 tackles in 2025) and Joey Porter Jr., who had a passer rating against<\/a> of less than 60 last year. In free agency the Steelers added veteran cornerback Jamel Dean (who started 77 games over seven seasons in Tampa) and safety Jaquan Brisker<\/a>, who had two 100-stop seasons in four years with the Bears<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Along with their new additions on the field, the Steelers will have a new defensive coordinator in 2026. After hiring Mike McCarthy as head coach, the team replaced previous DC Teryl Austin with Patrick Graham.<\/p>\n T.J. Watt, Steelers Defense Poised for Bounce Back Season? GettyBleacher Report\u2019s Gary Davenport ranked T.J. Watt and the Pittsburgh Steelers defense at No. 10 on his defensive power rankings.<\/p>\n Davenport seems to be leaning into Pittsburgh\u2019s defensive reputation for its top 10 defensive ranking entering 2026. Last season, the unit was not a top 10 group in most categories.<\/p>\n The Steelers defense survived because the group finished<\/a> fourth in the NFL in takeaways. Forcing turnovers was something Austin and Mike Tomlin significantly stressed over the last few seasons, and the Pittsburgh defense became very good at it.<\/p>\n That mindset helped lead to somewhat surprising victories against the Indianapolis Colts<\/a> and New England Patriots<\/a> last season. The Steelers registered 11 takeaways combined against those two opponents.<\/p>\n But the Steelers became overly reliant on takeaways, especially last season. The team ended<\/a> 2025 ranked 26th in yards allowed. The Steelers were also 13th in rushing yards yielded, 19th in net passing yards yielded per attempt and 29th in passing yards allowed.<\/p>\n Before 2025, the last time the Steelers were 26th or worst in total defense was 1988.<\/p>\n On paper, the Steelers have the tools to be much better on defense this fall. That\u2019s why Davenport argued the unit is a top 10 defense \u2014 the talent is there.<\/p>\n But to be a top 10 group, aging stars such as Jalen Ramsey and Cameron Heyward have to remain elite. Meanwhile, Watt has to rebound.<\/p>\n Each of the past two seasons, Watt has seen his statistics decline. He had just seven sacks in 14 games last season.<\/p>\n What Patrick Graham Could Bring as Steelers Defensive Coordinator GettyThe Pittsburgh Steelers hired Patrick Graham as their new defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n Losing Tomlin could hurt the Steelers defense. But it could also help the unit because it\u2019s going to force those aging stars to try something different.<\/p>\n Watt talked about that<\/a> with reporters at the team\u2019s mandatory minicamp. Graham plans to move Watt around on the Steelers defense more often.<\/p>\n Disguising where Watt lines up could result in more offensive line confusing for opponents and thus more Pittsburgh defensive splash plays.<\/p>\n In the secondary, Ramsey could line up all over the field too. The Steelers will have that flexibility with the other defensive backs they added this offseason.<\/p>\n As Davenport mentioned, the Steelers signed cornerback Jamel Dean and safety Jaquan Brisker.<\/p>\n Steelers defensive linemen might showcase their versatility as well. Keeanu Benton<\/a> could line up more often in different spots<\/a> along the line instead of focusing mostly on nose tackle.<\/p>\n The Steelers defensive stars and role players could benefit from the fresh start. They might also find it easier to reach their full potential while playing in more different positions.<\/p>\n Graham\u2019s Previous DC Record GettyPatrick Graham has previously been a defensive coordinator for three different NFL teams.<\/p>\n Graham doesn\u2019t come to Pittsburgh with a lot of previous statistical success as an NFL defensive coordinator. That\u2019s another reason why it\u2019s a bit surprising the Steelers made the top 10 defenses on Davenport\u2019s list.<\/p>\n But Graham has yet to work with the type of talent he will in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n Not only does he have All-Pro veterans such as Watt, Heyward and Ramsey at his disposal, but the Steelers also have budding stars such as Derrick Harmon<\/a> and Payton Wilson.<\/p>\n Last season, the Las Vegas Raiders finished<\/a> 14th in yards allowed under Graham. The team was also 25th in points yielded.<\/p>\n Graham received his first defensive coordinator opportunity with the Miami Dolphins<\/a> in 2019. He was then the New York Giants<\/a> defensive coordinator from 2020-21 before becoming the Raiders DC in 2022.<\/p>\n His best statistical defense was the 2020 Giants<\/a>, which were ninth in points allowed and 12th in total defense.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDave Holcomb<\/a> is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers and a variety of other NFL teams. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport ranked T.J. Watt and the Pittsburgh Steelers defense at No. 10 on his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":723545,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,593,85],"class_list":["post-723544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=723544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723544\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/723545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=723544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=723544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=723544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n![\"Patrick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1777696652.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Patrick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2192744981.jpg\")
<\/p>\n