He might not have had the truly dominant season that many are used to, but that didn’t stop star pass rusher T.J. Watt from landing inside of Pro Football Focus’ Top 50 players rankings ahead of the 2025 season.
Watt, who is fresh off agreeing to a three-year, $123 million contract extension with the Steelers, landed at No. 10 in PFF’s Top 50 player rankings. He’s one of just two Steelers in the rankings, joined by defensive lineman Cameron Heyward at No. 30 overall.
“Watt’s rare consistency and game-changing versatility make him one of the NFL’s elite defenders,” PFF’s Dalton Wasserman and Trevor Sikkema write. “In 2024, he earned a 92.3 PFF grade — second only to Myles Garrett among players with 300-plus snaps — and was the league’s only defensive lineman to post 90.0-plus grades in both pass rushing and run defense.
“Since 2019, Watt ranks as the second-most valuable edge defender, per PFF WAR. As the heartbeat of Pittsburgh’s defense, he shows no signs of slowing down heading into 2025.”
What Watt remains, even at the age of 30, is a game-changer. He has a knack for coming up with the splash plays that change the outcomes of games. He did so often last season, too, like the punch out in Las Vegas at the goal line, and the strip-sack of Daniel Jones against the New York Giants.
Those are just a few examples.
While Watt didn’t have the dominant year he typically has from a pass-rush perspective, recording just 11.5 sacks and just 53 pressures, he remained an elite run defender and found ways to impact the game. The ability to knock the ball out, similar to former Chicago Bears defensive back Charles Tillman and the “Peanut Punch,” is impressive from Watt.
Now, entering the 2025 season he’s more open to moving around defensively and searching for better matchups to rush against. That should help him avoid the league-leading number of chips and slide protections he faced last season, which helped negate his impact.
He’s getting up there in age — Watt turns 31 in October — but there are no signs of slowing down, similar to Heyward. This season should be a big one for Watt, who has the new contract checked off. Now, he has to go out and prove it once again and silence some of the critics.
Chances are, he’ll do that in a major way and should find himself among the league’s best pass rushers and defenders overall as he continues to strengthen his Hall of Fame resume.
Recommended for you