T.J. Watt might not be broken, but he’s coming off a disappointing season and feeling the heat for the first time in his career.
Gone might be his days of 20-sack seasons, but can Watt return to form of being one of the NFL’s top pass rushers? Much of the discussion has focused on moving him around the defense rather than keeping him glued to his typical left outside linebacker spot. That chatter has come from both internal and external sources.
It may be one solution, but it’s far from the only one. To me, anyway, there are several other ways to get Watt back on track.
Improve Team Run Defense
Pittsburgh’s run defense hasn’t been good enough the last two seasons. As former defensive line coach Karl Dunbar would say, you have to earn the right to rush the passer. The more third-and-long situations the Steelers’ defense can create, the more effective the entire pass rush, Watt included, will be.
Watt was still largely effective in those moments. Here are his pressure rates on third/fourth-and-long (7-plus yards) the last three seasons.
2025: 10.6 percent
2024: 11.0 percent
2023: 14.7 percent
2022: 8.9 percent
2021: 14.7 percent
No question, there is a decrease in the pressure rate relative to his peaks in 2021 and 2023. But Watt hasn’t totally fallen off from those figures, either.
I mentioned in a recent mailbag how close we were to talking about Watt closing out the 2025 season with a fourth-down sack on Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson. Had Pittsburgh covered a split second longer, Watt would’ve called game.
Of course, you could argue that the Watt of old simply gets there quicker, but this is a vintage Watt rush where the coverage just didn’t hold up its end of the bargain. Likely got open too easily. A better collective unit will naturally improve Watt’s numbers.
Rush Him More
Watt could use a little more volume. As we noted in our defensive charting, Watt dropped into coverage 9.1 percent of the time last season. An increase from 4.8 percent in 2024. As our charting also showed, Pittsburgh rushed blitzed 35 percent of the time last year but sent 5 or more rushers just 30 percent. Meaning, there were plenty of blitzes with an inside linebacker or defensive back rushing and an outside linebacker dropping into coverage.
When Pittsburgh blitzed last season, Watt dropped into coverage a very similar 8.9 percent of the time. That reduced his chances of getting one-on-one rushes when the offense couldn’t devote extra attention to him.
This also occasionally came when Pittsburgh played its base/three-down defense against twin-receiver sets. Two receivers to one side. In some of those moments, the Steelers would ask the EDGE rusher to that side to walk out and play the overhang. It also occurred against empty sets, like here against Chicago, where Watt bumped out.
Little More Creative Movement
I’m not against moving Watt around, even if I don’t think it’s the primary fix. I see the value in it to make him harder to identify and a larger viewpoint of making the defense less static.
It might invigorate Watt, too. He’s played under the same head coach his whole career and the same general structure and scheme.
Pittsburgh isn’t making wholesale changes, but a few new ideas can benefit everyone. If Watt can benefit from an extra sack or two because of it, it’s a clear win.
Reduce His Snap Count, At Least A Little
Reduce his snap count to reduce wear and tear and mitigate his violent playing style
Watt’s playing style is all-out. It’s part of what has made him a great linebacker. It also comes at the cost of additional wear and tear on his body, which has led to injuries and hampered his play.
Reducing his snap count a couple of ticks will keep him fresh from start to finish, in-game and throughout the season. Pittsburgh has an incentive to do so. Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig need their snaps, and the Steelers could create a true three-headed attack instead of Highsmith and Herbig most often rotating.
It’s hard to ascribe a specific number to it. Health for the entire unit will dictate some of it. If Highsmith or Herbig miss time, the Steelers’ three-man attack becomes two, and the math is simple. In games he was active for, Watt’s been above 82 percent of the defensive snaps each of the last four seasons. Something under that in 2026 is logical. Call it 75 percent as a nice and neat number to aim for.
Final Thoughts
If Watt is truly fading and his physical skills are diminishing, then any schematic change will only do so much good. Perhaps I’m stubborn to a fault, but I’ll believe in stars like Watt to turn it around and shine again. Especially high-effort, hard-working, and powerful players like Watt’s makeup.
Reaching double-digit sacks must be his minimum. Making the above changes could return Watt to a 15-sack campaign.