He might be stepping into a situation where he finds himself behind a darn good trio of T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig, but Pittsburgh Steelers rookie outside linebacker Jack Sawyer is generating quite a bit of buzz this offseason.
So much so, in fact, that many believe regardless of the players in front of him, Sawyer will have an impact on the Steelers this season.
That’s how The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner sees it. In a piece for The Athletic Thursday, Baumgardner highlighted Sawyer among a number of Day 3 picks from the 2025 NFL Draft who will make an impact for their teams this season. Sawyer was just one of two EDGE defenders to be highlighted, joining New England’s Bradyn Swinson.
“Sawyer’s effort, passion and physicality should be enough to help him make an impact next season, be it as a rotational piece on the defensive front or all over the place on special teams,” Baumgardner writes. “He’s not very long, and he’s hardly refined as a pass rusher, but his punch and ability to run through linemen should make him a huge nuisance for Pittsburgh’s O-line in training camp, if nothing else. This was a good value pick.”
When the Steelers selected Sawyer at No. 123 overall in the fourth round of the draft, it was a bit puzzling. They were already in good shape at outside linebacker with Watt, Highsmith and Herbig, not to mention a guy like Jeremiah Moon who can handle special teams as the No. 4 OLB, and free agent signee Malik Harrison being able to provide reps on the outside as well.
But within the Steelers’ 3-4 defense, OLB is the key cog in the engine, and you can never have enough pass rushers. The Steelers made sure of that with the selection of Sawyer. Though Sawyer has short arms and didn’t test all that well, he has a relentless motor and has that Steelers DNA.
The Steelers simply have a type, and Sawyer fits that type, period. He’s an old-school, no-nonsense, hard-nosed football player who also serves as a great leader from his time in college. He stayed home at Ohio State as a Columbus native to try to lead the Buckeyes to the mountaintop, and he did just that as Ohio State won the national championship in 2024.
Now, he’s in Pittsburgh trying to carve out a role defensively. Chances are, he’ll be counted on as a key special teams piece under coordinator Danny Smith, and with that passion, physicality and effort level, he should thrive there. It remains hard to see Sawyer seeing more than 5-8 snaps a game defensively, but it’s better to have depth you like, than to not feel good about the position overall.
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