Steelers' T.J. Watt Moves Up NFL History Books
PITTSBURGH -- It didn't take long for the Pittsburgh Steelers to know what they had when they drafted linebacker T.J. Watt in the first round of the 2017 draft. Watt recorded seven sacks, a forced fumble and an interception in his rookie year. Fast forward to Sunday afternoon against the Cincinnati Bengals and Watt's two-sack performance gave him the third-most career sacks in any player's first eight seasons since 1982.
Watt's 106 sacks through his first eight seasons are only outpaced by DeMarcus Ware with 111 and Reggie White with 124
In the final four seasons of his career, Ware recorded 27.5 sacks and added two more Pro Bowl selections on top of his previous seven selections. Ware never won the Defensive Player of the Year award but finished fifth and second in voting in 2007 and 2008 respectively. Ware was recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.
White played an incredible 15 seasons. After recording 124 sacks in his first eight, White would record 68.5 sacks over his final seven seasons. White retired and did not play in the 1999 season, but came back for one more year in 2000 with the Carolina Panthers and recorded 5.5 sacks. White's list of accolades is too long to list. He was a no-doubt Hall of Famer inducted in 2006.
As a game-wrecking linebacker whose name starts with 'W', Watt is already on a Hall of Fame trajectory. Watt cracked through and won a Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021, finishing second in voting twice and third once.
Through 11 games this season, Watt is the Defensive Player of the Year favorite. Watt's 7.5 sacks this season aren't near his career's best mark. If this pace holds he would finish with around 11.5 sacks, the lowest mark in seasons where he played 15 or more games since his rookie year. However, Watt is, and always has been, the key reason for the Steelers' defensive success. When Watt plays, the Steelers win 67% of their games. When he doesn't, they have a 1-10 record. Watt's five forced fumbles lead the league.
Several people have tried to measure Watt's contributions and importance to the Steelers. But the reality is the Steelers wouldn't be 9-3 and in first place in the AFC North without Watt's availability and talent. There is no quantifying greatness. But when Watt is in the company of Ware and White, there's no more counting needed.