Aug 21, 2022 4 min read

There is no hiding the strength of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It’s the defense, outside linebacker T.J. Watt in particular.

Watt has evolved from “J.J.’s little brother” to one of the best pass rushers of his generation. He signed one of the richest defensive contracts in NFL history on the eve of the 2021 season, then repaid that investment by tying a league record with 22 1/2 sacks and easily topping the voting as the best defender in football.

It was, by nearly every metric, a historic season. Every metric but one. The one Watt knows — beyond the sacks and the splash plays and the unique brand of havoc he creates nearly every weekend in the fall — he will ultimately be measured by not matter how many pages of the team’s record book the 27-year-old Watt rewrites over the course of his career.

“We’ve got to win a Super Bowl,” Watt said.

Something his team hasn’t particularly come close to since he arrived in the 2017 draft. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game during Watt’s tenure, the latest setback an ultimately lopsided loss to Kansas City in January, a game that began with Watt returning a fumble on a botched trick play 26 yards for a touchdown to give Pittsburgh a lead that eventually vanished under an avalanche of mistakes by a defense that looked worn out.

The blowout marked the final game of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s Hall of Fame career. It also signaled an identity shift of sorts for a team whose fortunes for most of the decade relied heavily on Roethlisberger’s right arm.

Not in 2022. The offense figures to be a work in progress with free-agent signee Mitch Trubisky facing the daunting task of trying to replace a franchise icon. Pittsburgh’s best chance at contending in a potentially loaded AFC North will require the defense to re-discover the swagger that was hard to come by at times last fall.

It’s a swagger Watt and defensive end Cam Heyward — two of the three longest-tenured players on the roster — have been trying to show during the opening days of practice. The two veterans have served as the tip of the spear in a handful of dust-ups that remain a training camp fixture, jawing — and sometimes more than jawing — at the offensive players in white jerseys during practice.

Watt is well-versed in Steelers lore. He knows he’s the next link in a chain of great Pittsburgh linebackers that goes back half a century. Many of the legends whose company he is trying to keep have multiple championship rings.

Watt is still searching for his first. He knows he can hardly do it alone, one of the many reasons the formerly reticent pass-rushing prodigy is more visible — and more audible — in nearly every aspect of his life.

“In order to really help guys out and be a leader, you have to be very comfortable with who you are in this defense, in the locker room, everything,” he said. “I’m very comfortable. I feel like I have so much more to give to the game.”

If the Steelers are to win big this year they will need another big season from second-year running back Najee Harris. Last season, Harris led the NFL with 381 touches and finished second in yards after contact behind only Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor.

Harris, the No. 24 overall pick in 2021, enjoyed a Pro Bowl season as a rookie. He had 307 carries and 1,200 rushing yards in addition to 74 catches and 467 receiving yards, all tops among rookie running backs in franchise history. Harris led all NFL running backs in receptions and finished third among running backs in receiving yards.

The Pittsburgh quarterback, whomever that might be, will have several big-play targets at wide receiver. Diontae Johnson recently received a new contract and George Pickens, a second-round draft pick out of Georgia, has been a training camp standout. Chase Claypool will be trying to rebound from a disappointing 2021.

“We might not have the type of quarterback play that we’ve had, we might not have the special talent that we’ve had, but we got capable dudes,” head coach Mike Tomlin said. “And we’ve got a team.”