Football <\/p>\n
Thanks to T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig, the Pittsburgh Steelers have arguably the best pass-rush group in football, at least when it comes to EDGE defenders.<\/p>\n
Those three terrorize opposing offenses and strike fear in quarterbacks and offensive coordinators weekly.<\/p>\n
Individually though, the three players appear to be in different parts of their careers. Watt, who was once arguably the best pass rusher in football, has declined and is coming off a rough 2025 season. Highsmith has struggled to stay healthy in recent years, but when he\u2019s on the field he\u2019s an outstanding player.<\/p>\n
Herbig, meanwhile, is an ascending player who very clearly deserves more playing time and is in line for a huge extension this summer.<\/p>\n
For NFL Daily\u2019s Gregg Rosenthal and analyst Ollie Connolly, there\u2019s a clear pecking order for the Steelers\u2019 OLBs at the moment. In their best EDGE defenders draft for NFL Daily Friday afternoon, Watt landed at No. 11 overall, while Herbig went No. 14 and Highsmith went No. 20.<\/p>\n
With Watt, Connolly sees a player on the wrong side of things in his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the decline is really real. He\u2019s such a high-profile player and the big plays are so impactful, but he\u2019s just become such a boom or bust player relying on one thing from one alignment and he still creates havoc and he can still create chaos,\u201d Connolly said of Watt.<\/a> \u201cBut when you start to see a player like that decline, I do get worried that the impact just gets deadened and deadened.\u201d<\/p>\n In the EDGE draft, Watt went after names like Jacksonville\u2019s Josh Hines-Allen and even the New York Giants\u2019 Abdul Carter.<\/p>\n Last season was rough for Watt. He had that scary lung injury that caused him to miss time late in the season, but when he was on the field Watt wasn\u2019t all that impactful getting after the passer. He had just 7.0 sacks and 43 pressures, showing a major decline in his numbers.<\/p>\n Some of that can be attributed to the lack of creativity from the Steelers\u2019 coaching staff to move him around and get him away from the chips and double-teams. But Watt also slowed down a bit and wasn\u2019t his usual dominant self. That has raised serious questions about his future at 32 years old.<\/p>\n Patrick Graham\u2019s hiring as defensive coordinator could change things. Graham brings a fresh approach and could get Watt to move around a bit, all while scheming up ways to get him 1-on-1 matchups.<\/p>\n Steelers.com\u2019s Bob Labriola believes Watt will bounce back in 2026 and return to that A-level player<\/a>. The Steelers will need that.<\/p>\n But they do have some good depth and talent behind Watt.<\/p>\n