Over the last 20 seasons, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been to the Super Bowl a couple of times and won it all in 2008-2009 against the Arizona Cardinals. A couple of seasons later, Pittsburgh went again against the Green Bay Packers and lost. One of the defensive players who never played in a Super Bowl for the Steelers was T.J. Watt.
Apr 23, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt waves a Terrible Towel during the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Watt has won a defensive player of the year award before with the Steelers. He has had a solid NFL career here. Pittsburgh in the past has had other defensive studs on its roster.
T.J. Watt Headlines Pittsburgh Steelers Top Defensive Players Over the Last 20 Seasons on PFF
May 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90) participates in OTA drills at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Profootballfocus.com writer Nathan Jahnke wrote about who some of the top Steelers defensive players were over the last 20 seasons. At the linebackers position, he has Watt and James Harrison as the outside linebackers. At the inside linebacker position, Jahnke has Lawrence Timmons and James Farrior as the top inside linebackers over the last 20 seasons. Jahnke said,
“Pittsburgh won its only Super Bowl of the PFF era in 2008, but like the offense, fewer than half of the players on this All-PFF defense were part of that roster.
For many franchises, assembling these teams requires combining players who reached their peaks in different eras. The Steelers were somewhat unique in that several of their top defenders overlapped. T.J. Watt and James Harrison rarely shared the field and peaked at different points in their Hall of Fame-caliber careers, but the linebacker group still features players who spent four seasons together. Likewise, all three defensive linemen were teammates from 2016-19.”
To round out the rest of this defense, Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, and Javon Hargrave were the defensive lineman. Joe Haden, Steven Nelson, and William Gay were the cornerbacks. Troy Polamalu and Minkah Fitzpatrick were the safeties. The Steelers front seven is what was elite over the years. Cornerback was by far the weakest position of this defense. Polamalu was one of the top safeties the NFL has ever seen.
Watt and the other front seven players have had solid NFL careers. He is going to wind up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Watt is 31 years old and it will be interesting to see how much longer he will play in the NFL for. With Pittsburgh last season, he had 55 tackles, seven sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions, and eight pass deflections.
The Steelers hope to get a few more good seasons out of him. Watt hasn’t had much success in the playoffs in his NFL career, but he is one of the top Steelers defensive players over the last 20 seasons anyways also.
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