USA TODAY International Edition
Watt’s versatility opening new doors
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt is near the top of the sack leaderboard among rookies, tied for second with five.
But Watt has become an increasingly versatile player for the Steelers defense, and Pittsburgh’s coaches are now able to expand his role beyond just rushing the quarterback. His seven pass breakups rank him tied for fifth among rookies, and he’s the only non-defensive back in the top 10.
That skill set was certainly evident last weekend when Watt was tasked with dropping in pass coverage against Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson.
He also picked up a sack in that game on an impressive play in which he first backpedaled into pass coverage before rushing forward to drop quarterback Brett Hundley.
“My dad always told me to try to show them as much things as possible so they have to keep you on the field. They don’t have a choice,” Watt told USA TODAY in a phone interview.
Indeed, Watt has become a full-time player for the Steelers, as he’s played nearly 90% of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps over the last four games.
“That’s what I’ve been wanting to do, to show the coaches and everybody that I can do a multitude of different things, and not at a low level,” Watt said. “I can do them at a high level, and that’s why you see me being put in different situations where I feel confident wherever they put me out on the field.”
When Watt batted down a Hundley pass intended for Nelson, Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt, one of his two older brothers, immediately posted a tweet with the emoji padlock symbol.
The eldest Watt brother, who is on injured reserve while recovering from knee surgery, frequently will tweet about his brother’s play.
When the Steelers games end, T.J. Watt will check his phone and will see notifications specifically about J.J.’s posts.
“I think it’s just weird because I remember when I would do it for him and now he’s doing it for me,” Watt said. “I can’t wait to do it for him again when he comes back.”
The brothers were supposed to play each other for the first time in the NFL on Dec. 24, but now only T.J. Watt will play in that game. J.J. Watt recently was cleared to start walking, according to a video the Texans star posted on Instagram.
“Any little step in this long process is going to be a mini-victory and only make him more hungry to get to jogging and running and all that other stuff,” Watt said. “It takes time, but you see him sitting around for a while, letting it rest, and obviously he was getting sick of that. So to see little victories, it’s awesome.”
Watt spoke to USA TODAY to promote his My Cause My Cleats partnership with Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Watt will wear cleats this week to promote the Sports Matters program, which helps raise money to fund youth sports programs.
Watt’s cleats will include green laces that will be sold at Dick’s to benefit the charity.
“That has been the biggest thing to me, that kids want to play sports but they don’t have the money to and they’re being forced to pay,” Watt said. “That’s unfortunate that we have kids that, who knows, could be the next NFL star or next track and field stars, soccer stars, basketball stars whatever you want, and they’re not being able to play because they don’t have the funds.”