The greatest weapon an NFL defense can have is an effective pass rush. This is something the Pittsburgh Steelers have been able to count on for a very long time. At least until last season when star edge rusher T.J. Watt went down with injury and the entire defense took a hit.
Pro Football Focus ranked the 32 best edge rushers in the NFL and the Steelers were fortunate to last two on the list.
PFF put Watt at No. 4 in the NFL and in the first tier of edge rushers. Watt missed all but 10 games last season with a variety of injuries including a torn pectoral. In at least two of those games Watt did start he was either injured or played hurt and was largely ineffective. Watt finished with only 5.5 sacks after tying the season record the year before with 22.5 sacks.
Meanwhile, at No. 32 we have Alex Highsmith. This put him in tier five. This is despite Highsmith finishing the season with 14.5 sacks which was good enough for sixth-best in the league. PFF noted that Highsmith was productive in the absence of Watt but this isn’t exactly true. Highsmith was largely ineffective when Watt went down with injury and his production was more a product of having Watt on the field.
