It was clear that the Pittsburgh Steelers suffered from the loss of edge rusher T.J. Watt for nearly half of the 2022 season. The team was 8-2 in games that the dominant pass rusher played in and just 1-6 when he was unable to suit up due to a torn pectoral muscle.
Watt, who was the 2021 AP Defensive Player of the Year, still managed to have 5.5 sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble. The simple nature of him being able to play has made an incredible difference for the organization since he was drafted in 2017.
While fans of the black and gold haven't forgotten about his authoritative defensive skill, it's quite possible that his talent has not been on the minds of some outlets. Specifically, on Sunday, Pro Football Focus tweeted out just four simple words: 'Rank these pass rushers.'
Well, that's odd. These guys deserve recognition, but Watt, after missing seven games in 2022, has as many or more sacks during the past two seasons than two of these players. Haason Reddick has 27 total since 2021, which is identical to Watt, while Micah Parsons has 26.5 throughout his first two years in the NFL.
Steelers enemy Myles Garrett is second in the group of five with 32 while Nick Bosa is at the top with 34. It's fair to assume Watt would have blown most of, or all, of them out of the water if he played a full season in 2022. It's the offseason, so PFF is trying to stir up conversation, but it should be held accountable for leaving out the league's best pass rusher since 2017.
Watt has 77.5 sacks since he entered the league in 2017 after being drafted by the Steelers, which is the most of any player in the NFL. Some tend to think that he in injury-prone, but aside from 2022, he only missed four total games and one of those was a coach's decision to allow him to rest the final week of the 2020 campaign.
If the tweet was specifically related to 2022, this would make sense, but it's difficult to justify leaving the Steelers' star out of this, even with an injury-plagued season.
This might not bother some people, but Watt deserves to be talked about and in the discussion regarding the league's best pass rushers. An argument can be made that Garrett is the most physically imposing and Bosa was the best in 2022, but there's no way Watt should have been left off of this list, especially with Parsons being in the NFL for just two seasons.
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