Steelers 2-a-days: T.J. Watt on a Hall of Fame trajectory? Can brother Derek make team again?
Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, the Trib will be running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, assessing each player’s outlook for the 2022 season. The breakdown will go through the roster in mostly-alphabetical order, two per day, between June 11 and July 25. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.
FB DEREK WATT
Experience: 7th season
Contract status: $4.71 million cap hit in 2022, after which scheduled for unrestricted free agency
2022 outlook: The lower-profile of one of the four sets of brothers on the Steelers, Derek Watt has appeared in 31 of the Steelers’ 35 games the past two seasons (including playoffs). But in those 31 games he has appeared in a grand total of 142 offensive snaps (an average of 4.6 per game). Watt has four regular-season touches (one carry and three catches) that have netted 16 yards.
That doesn’t sound like participation or production befitting a player who has the ninth-highest salary-cap hit on the team, but that’s where Watt slots on to the Steelers’ 90-man camp roster as he embarks on the final season of a three-year contract signed during the spring of 2020.
To be fair, Watt is one of the Steelers’ most trusted special-teamers, one of five players who in 2021 appeared in more than 300 special-teams snaps as part of all “core four” special teams. By all accounts, Watt is a valued presence in the locker room and is well-liked by the coaching staff.
But is that enough to justify his price tag? There have been perpetual whispers throughout his tenure with the Steelers that Watt (or fullbacks in general) would be getting a heightened role in the offense. That’s never come to fruition. And even if it does, do the Steelers have other (cheaper) options at fullback? Ironically, two other brothers of better-known teammates are candidates to play the position: Trey Edmunds and rookie Connor Heyward. Heyward was a sixth-round pick who played running back early in his college career but has since moved to tight end. He did not take reps at fullback during organized team activities nor minicamp. The smart money is on Watt again being the first-team fullback in 2022.
After coming close the previous two seasons, the Steelers' T.J. Watt won the AP award given to the NFL’s top defensive player Thursday night. https://t.co/PH6hHQN12O
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) February 11, 2022
OLB T.J. WATT
Experience: 6th season
Contract status: $8.12 million cap hit in 2022, signed through 2025
2022 outlook: Watt’s career progression since his rookie season through last season: all-rookie team in 2017, Pro Bowler in 2018, third in AP NFL defensive player of the year balloting in 2019, runner-up in DPOY balloting in 2020, winner of the award in 2021.
What can Watt possibly do for an encore to keep up that upward trajectory? Short of leaguewide MVP (almost impossible for a defensive player) and/or breaking the NFL record he tied last season for sacks in a season, it’s difficult to envision anything better for Watt as he begins a season in which he will turn 28. That’s still well within his prime, of course, but if there is a concern it is that his body doesn’t break down. Last season, Watt missed two full games and more than half of two others because of various ailments. He’s not his older brother, of course, but it has been noted that J.J. Watt did not miss a game because of injury until he turned 27 — but once injury first struck J.J. Watt, he’s since only been available for 55% of the 94 games his teams have played since.
Time will tell how T.J. Watt’s career arc goes. But for now, just marvel that he has 66 sacks over his past 63 games played and 72 in 77 career games overall. Barring catastrophic injury, Watt is well on track to end up in the Hall of Fame some day. The Steelers remain well in a window with that type of talent on their defense, especially while his salary-cap hit is so remarkably low. Next year, it is scheduled to leap to more than $31 million.
Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.