Apr 28, 2017 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – Personal relationships matter when searching for a job, no matter what position for which you are applying.

Having an uncle, a family friend or other “in” at a company never hurts.

That’s a little how the Steelers wound up selecting outside linebacker T.J. Watt in the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday.

Don’t misunderstand. Watt can play the game.

But the relationship Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert have with Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst from his days at Pitt certainly didn’t hurt when it came to Watt.

Colbert visited Wisconsin early last season and took notice of Watt. But since he was so young at the position and was still a junior, Colbert made some mental notes.

As the season progressed, however, and Watt developed into a force on Wisconsin’s defense, Colbert’s interest was piqued.

“He was one of those junior possibility guys that might come out early,” Colbert said. “After the season, Coach Chryst actually texted me and said, ‘Hey, can you take a look at this young man and give me an idea of where his draft value might be before he decides to come out?’ We did that. I looked at him and said, ‘Coach, this kid is a first-round pick.”

Little did Colbert know then that Watt would be the Steelers’ first-round pick, the 30th player selected.

Pittsburgh continued to do its homework on Watt, the younger brother of Houston Texans All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

“Obviously, everybody knows me as J.J.’s younger brother, but people don’t know the little things, the work ethic, the countless hours of film study,” Watt said. “Doing the little things, like getting the right amount of sleep, hydration, just treating myself like a professional athlete while I was still in college.”

They were things he learned from his older brothers. Not only is J.J. an NFL star, another older brother, Derek, is a fullback for the San Diego Chargers.

Watt had the bloodlines. He had the production, recording 11 ½sacks last season. And the Steelers had a need for an edge rusher.

With Watt, the added inside information certainly didn’t hurt, especially given his history.

Watt redshirted in his first season at Wisconsin as a tight end. Then, as a freshman and suffered a knee injury that required surgery. Then, he had another injury to the other knee, ending that season.

Finally, as a sophomore, he finally got onto the field at Wisconsin following a switch to outside linebacker.

“I truly think this is what I was born to do,” said Watt of what kept him going through the injury issues.

Because of the injuries and the redshirt, Watt was a work in progress in his sophomore season. He didn’t start that year, appearing in only eight games. But he got better and better last season and decided to enter the draft, striking while the iron was hot.

“That was my selling point. I was a first or second-team All-American on 18 months of playing defense,” Watt said. “I truly am scratching the surface of what I can do. I feel like the sky’s the limit for what I can do on the field.”

The Steelers feel the same way. And they had plenty of inside information to lead them in that direction.

“We are excited to have him,” said team president Art Rooney II. “He comes from a football family, which why it is exciting to have him be a part of the Steelers’ family. He also comes from a college program we are very familiar with, the college coaching staff we are familiar with, which helped us in the evaluation process.”

Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.