Look out, here comes T.J. Watt. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year and Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker told reporters Friday that he expects to be on the field against the New Orleans Saints this week, having missed most of the season so far with a pectoral muscle injury. And his return sets him up with a familiar opponent: his old Wisconsin Badgers teammate and New Orleans Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk.
Both players earned All-American recognition in 2016, and were selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft — Watt went off the board first, at No. 30 overall, with the Saints selecting Ramczyk a few minutes later at No. 32.
It almost goes without saying that Watt is a transformational presence for the Steelers up front, but we’ll illustrate that point anyway: Pittsburgh notched 7 sacks and 5 takeaways in their first game this season, with Watt in the lineup, and without him they’ve managed just 8 sacks and 5 turnovers across the next 7 games. He only had one sack in that Week 1 contest, but it ties him for third on the team.
Watt has created 73 sacks in 78 career regular season games, also collecting 83 tackles for loss and 151 quarterback hits. He’s forced 22 fumbles, recovering 7 of them. And because he primarily rushes off the left side of the Steelers defensive line, he’ll be in direct contact with Ramczyk at right tackle for most of the afternoon. Ramczyk has shut down elite pass rushes before, but when Watt is on there aren’t many players like him. He’s got to be on top of his game against another former Badger.
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