When the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Ohio State pass rusher Jack Sawyer in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, it felt like a bit of a luxury rather than a need, particularly at the outside linebacker position where the Steelers were truly loaded with three good ones in T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig.
Playing time was expected to be scarce for the rookie, but injuries to Highsmith and Herbig pushed Sawyer onto the field earlier than anticipated. He’s responded in a big way, providing the Steelers with some serviceable reps defensively under coordinator Teryl Austin.
He’s started to make some big plays in recent weeks, too, especially with Highsmith on the shelf. And that has Austin excited about his progress and what Sawyer can continue to do moving forward, especially in some three-OLB packages with Watt and Herbig.
“Yeah, he has grown. Jack has grown. We like Jack. He allows us to do some things,” Austin said, according to the official transcript provided by the team. “Alex is down right now, so we’re not out of a package. What constitutes limits? I think the game constitutes how much we use it or not. It’s all game-driven, how we’re doing it. How we’re doing in that particular package is how much we’ll use it.
“Pleased with his progress and how he’s doing it, and staying in that formation or staying in that grouping depends on how we’re playing in that grouping.”
The three-OLB package was huge against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11 with Sawyer a part of it. That three-OLB package helped generate pressure on safety Kyle Dugger’s 73-yard pick-six of Joe Flacco and really gave the Steelers the ability to change up the looks, create mismatches up front, and get after Flacco throughout the game.
Sawyer played 19 defensive snaps against the Bengals and generated one pressure. He also had one run stop in the 34-12 win, but he was charged with one reception allowed on one target for 28 yards and a touchdown, getting beat by Tee Higgins on a broken play.
He’s up to 152 defensive snaps on the season and continues to get better and better. He remains a good run defender and flashed that against the Bengals, making a great play from the backside on a zone run.
Sawyer has generated 10 pressures in 84 pass-rush snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, has one sack, and had his first NFL interception in Week 9 against the Indianapolis Colts. We’ll see when Highsmith comes back from injury, this time to his pectoral. But the way Sawyer has progressed, the Steelers have plenty of options at outside linebacker.
That three-OLB package will remain, and maybe Sawyer even forces his way into a role when Watt, Highsmith and Herbig are all healthy.
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