The Pittsburgh Steelers want to take some of the pressure off their star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the best way to do that is to find a way to revive their once successful ground attack.
Cue: Derek Watt.
Though Watt has been more of a special teamer in his four-year NFL career, his talents should help increase production on offense, as well. After all, former Chargers running back Melvin Gordon couldn’t have amassed 3,599 yards and 36 touchdowns without a little help from his friend.
The Steelers have been at or near the bottom of the league in rushing the past two seasons and desperately need to utilize the fullback more.
While Steelers fans shouldn’t expect the second coming of Dan Kreider, I don’t believe Pittsburgh would’ve signed Watt to such a lucrative contract if he wasn’t going to be a key player in the run game. Watt is a tenacious run-blocker which should help running back James Conner tremendously. Teams that are successful on the ground like the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens have solid fullbacks in Kyle Juszczyk and Patrick Ricard.
There’s no doubt T.J. Watt nudged the Steelers to consider his free-agent older brother, but Tomlin and special teams coordinator, Danny Smith, also got a look at Watt with their own eyes. In the Steelers-Chargers game in October, Watt was part of 21 special teams snaps and six snaps on offense.
Steelers quarterbacks coach Matt Canada, who was Watt’s offensive coordinator during his freshman year at Wisconsin, offered valuable insight as well. In 2012, Derek played in all 14 games (five starts) and contributed 150 yards on 12 catches. He was also an integral part of their successful run game, making key blocks for running back Montee Ball, who enjoyed a record-breaking season.
Canada may be quarterbacks coach by title, but he was also brought to Pittsburgh to inject some creativity into what has become a predictable offense. Canada knows Watt’s strengths and how to use them.
As for the Steelers, they’re still in the discovery phase when it comes to Watt. “I think we are in the process of discovering that as we familiarize ourselves with him and his skillsets and the things he does well,” said head coach Mike Tomlin during a press conference on Thursday. “The known aspect of his game that was really attractive to us was his high-level of productivity on special teams.”
“And because we had an opportunity to play against his team last year, we also were very respectful of his functional fullback skills. But some of the off the beaten path things, some of the additional things, we are going to learn about him along the way.”
Tomlin pointed out that Watt and then-Steeler Tyler Matakevich led the NFL in special teams tackles in 2019.
Special teams is a critical phase of any football game, and the Steelers can always use help on that side of the ball.
In 2019, Watt played in 325 special teams snaps with a Pro Football Focus grade of 90.5. On offense, he logged 72 run-blocking snaps (58 grade) to just four pass-blocking snaps (34 grade). Watt did score a touchdown, but only had eight rushing attempts for 10 yards, so it doesn’t appear that he’ll be cutting into Conner’s touches.
Conner welcomes the presence and versatility that Watt brings to the Steelers.
“It’s been awesome having Derek,” said Conner in a Wednesday press conference. “He comes to work every day. He’s a leader as well. In the classroom, he sets the tone in there with his knowledge and how he’s picking things up. On the field, he brings energy. He will help our team out a lot, especially on special teams as well. You know, the way he comes down on kickoffs and being a fullback, he does it all.”
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