Steelers Now
It looks like Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt has a lot to prove this season.
Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt did not have the 2025 season he likely imagined, but the latest ESPN positional rankings may have taken his down year a bit too far.
NFL scouts, executives and coaches ranked Watt as the seventh-best edge rusher in the league, behind Houston Texans Danielle Hunter (No. 6), Detroit Lions Aidan Hutchinson (No. 5), Las Vegas Raiders Maxx Crosby (No. 4), Houston Texans Will Anderson (No. 3), Green Bay Packers Micah Parsons (No. 2) and Los Angeles Rams Myles Garrett (No. 1).
“This is a sizable fall for Watt, a three-time sack king who logged back-to-back No. 2 rankings over the past two years,” Jeremy Fowler of ESPN wrote. “Watt missed three late-season games in 2025 with a partially collapsed lung due to an accident during a routine dry needling incident at the team facility. But his pass rush win rate in 14 games was 11.7%, the lowest among this year’s top 10 rushers.”
Watt’s 2025 campaign certainly didn’t do him any favors as he recorded just seven sacks after having double digit sack totals in six of his last seven seasons.
“Definitely in decline,” one AFC executive said. “He’s still very good. But some of the younger players have surpassed him.”
Only time will tell if the soon-to-be 32-year-old can regain some ground on his younger counterparts around the league. However, it will probably be tough now that he’ll likely have to split a significant amount of reps with fellow outside linebackers Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig.
“He can win with his high motor and his flair for the big play, but the burst and get-off isn’t the same as it was as a result of lower-body injuries,” one NFL personnel evaluator said.
A first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Watt has recorded 517 tackles, 115 sacks, 36 forced fumbles, 14 fumble recoveries, 58 passes defensed and nine interceptions in his professional career.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers T.J. Watt Disrespected By Latest ESPN Rankings
