The Next Lawrence Taylor? T.J. Watt Skills Draws Interesting Parallel

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had plenty of elite defenders throughout the history of the franchise, but one of the best defenders in the team’s history is on the current roster in TJ Watt. He became the franchise’s all-time sack leader during the 2023 season, and he just eclipsed 100 career sacks back in Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys. Watt has finally been getting the recognition he deserves in 2024, after years of being disrespected by the NFL in favor of Myles Garrett.

Watt has cemented himself as one of the best players in today’s NFL, and he consistently has players from the past stepping forward and acknowledging his greatness. During Pittsburgh’s win over the New York Giants on Monday Night Football in Week 8, Lawrence Taylor joined the ManningCast broadcast of the game where he spoke about Watt and his thoughts on the outside linebacker.

“He’s strong.” Taylor said. “I like the way he uses his hands. Just like I used to do. I love the way he uses his hands, get the blocker off him and always in the right position. So, I’m cool with him.”

Taylor is widely considered the best defensive player in NFL history, and he compared Watt’s play style to himself. The Hall of Famer stated that they rush the passer the same way, by using their strength and their hands to get blockers off of them. Taylor was a little bit faster than Watt due to his smaller stature, but the two are some of the most effective pass rushers of all time.

Watt is currently playing in his eighth season in the league, and so far in his career he has played in 112 games. Through 112 games, Watt has recorded seven interceptions, 31 forced fumbles, 12 fumble recoveries, 434 tackles, 103 sacks, and a touchdown. Through eight seasons in Lawrence’s career the Hall Of Famer had played in 113 games. In those games Taylor recorded eight interceptions, six fumble recoveries, 98.5 sacks, and a touchdown.

The numbers are eerily similar for the two defenders. It is important to note that the league was centered around the running game when Taylor was playing, which makes his statistics a bit more impressive. He had less opportunities to get to the quarterback due to there being less passing attempts than there is now.

Pittsburgh’s star outside linebacker is keeping pace with the defender who many tab as the greatest of all time. This says a lot about Watt and the impact he has had since the start of his career. He has been the model of consistency for Pittsburgh, except for the 2022 season when he was injured early on. By the time Watt decides to hang it up, he could be considered one of the best to ever play the defensive side of the ball.

 

Steelers’ TJ Watt Hasn’t Received Enough Respect From The League

Watt won the NFL’s Defensive Player Of The Year Award at the end of the 2021 season, but he should have a lot more hardware than he does. He finished second in the DPOY race twice, during the 2020 and 2023 seasons. Both times he was clearly snubbed, but it was extremely bad in the 2023 season. The award went to Garrett, who seemed to be the NFL’s darling throughout the entire 2023 season. Garrett had only 14 sacks to Watt’s 19.5, and he recorded just one sack over the last seven weeks of the regular season.

Pittsburgh’s defender was ahead of Garrett in nearly every major statistical category for a pass-rusher, yet the league still gave the award to Garrett. Hopefully things change in 2024, as Watt has recorded 6.5 sacks and four forced fumbles heading into the bye week.