There Simply Is No One Like TJ Watt
Sam Greene / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
Look, do you need to be one of the best quarterbacks in the league to be able to tell that TJ Watt is great? Unless everyone in Steelers Nation is one of the league’s best passers (and if you were — where the hell were you last year?), probably not. But when someone like Joe Burrow talks about TJ Watt, his perspective is probably worth listening to, even if he is just a Bengal.
Burrow went on the Pardon My Take podcast, where he dished on just how terrifying it is to line up under center with Watt on the other side of the line of scrimmage. And despite Watt’s 96.5 sacks in 104 career games, it’s not the fear of getting tackled that separates Watt from the rest of the NFL’s best.
“TJ is a unique player in this league,” Burrow said. “There’s no other defensive lineman that I have to treat like a DB. I have to be conscious about where he’s at because he’s just going to jump up and catch it. And there’s nobody else who can do that.”
Debate over. Myles Garrett, go ahead and turn over your AP Defensive Player of the Year Award to Watt. It can’t be yours anymore. TJ Watt is the best edge rusher in the league, and thus, he’s the best defensive player, too.
We’re (half-)joking here, but Burrow taps into an essential truth about Watt: There isn’t a defensive lineman in the league that puts as much on the table as he does. An elite edge rusher is going to have an enormous impact on the passing game — that’s the whole gig — but the way Watt affects quarterbacks both in the backfield and dropping back in coverage is unparalleled.
Watt’s stat line last season included 19 sacks, an interception, and eight passes defended, which is a mix of numbers that you almost never see in an edge rusher. Since 1999, when the NFL began tracking passes defended, only five players have put up 15 sacks, an interception, and five passes defended. They’re TJ Watt, big brother JJ, Chris Jones, Shawne Merriman, and Simeon Rice. TJ Watt did it twice (2023 and 2020), which hasn’t been matched by anyone but Rice (2003-04).
The sheer number of impact plays in the passing game sets him apart from almost anyone before him, let alone in the game today. Among players with 10-plus sacks, let’s look at the players with the most impact passing plays (a stat we just invented: sacks+passes defended+interceptions) in a season:
- JJ Watt, 2012: 36.5
- JJ Watt, 2014: 30.5
- TJ Watt, 2021: 29.5
- TJ Watt, 2023: 28
- Jamir Miller, 2001: 28
- Simeon Rice, 2002: 27.5
- Justin Houston, 2014: 27
- Khalil Mack, 2023: 27
- Jared Allen, 2007: 26.5
- Jason Taylor, 2002: 26.5
- Jason Taylor, 2006: 26.5
It’s not just that he’s had these great seasons, it’s that he’s able to accomplish them repeatedly. TJ narrowly missed a third or even fourth trip into this top-10. His 2019 season saw him make 24.5 Impact Passing Plays (14.5 sacks, 8 PD, 2 INT), and his 2020 campaign saw him rack up 23 such plays (15 sacks, 7 PD, 1 INT).
Just for pettiness’ sake, let’s check in on our friend Garrett. Hey, look at that: His 2022 season saw him make 20 Impact Passing Plays (16 sacks, 4 PD, 0 INT), his career-high. That’s cute!
Again, we’re (half-)joking. Garrett is obviously a terror to line up against, but when Burrow is game-planning for him, all Burrow has to worry about is staying upright. Garrett has never deflected more than four passes in a season, and he’s never had an interception. And that’s OK, again, the primary job of any edge rusher is to get to the quarterback. Garrett does so as frequently as anyone, and casually dominates offensive lineman like few others.
But let’s be real, TJ Watt simply offers so much more for a quarterback to worry about. In some sense, he’s almost like having two players occupying one spot on the field, the elite pass-rusher and the almost unprecedented elite coverage lineman. When it comes to the combination of explosiveness, versatility, and consistency, there just isn’t anyone else like him in today’s game, and few ever in NFL history.
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