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T. J. Watt flexes his muscles prior to practice Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018 at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
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T.J. Watt spotlights good, young Steelers talent

Lake Fong/Post-Gazette

T.J. Watt spotlights good, young Steelers talent

T.J. Watt has ways to go to match his brother’s second season in the NFL when J.J. Watt led the league with 20.5 sacks.

But he’s carved out quite a record of his own with the Steelers. His 11 sacks this season not only lead the team, his 18 career sacks are the most ever by a Steelers player in his first two pro seasons.

That’s more than James Harrison, Jason Gildon, L.C. Greenwood, Joe Greene, Joey Porter or anyone else who broke in with the Steelers after two seasons.

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Watt’s performance more than justified the Steelers drafting him in the first round in 2017, but he’s not the only one. The talent Kevin Colbert, Mike Tomlin and Co. added over the past two seasons have either distinguished themselves or are starting to do so.

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Consider:

In 2017, the Steelers drafted Watt and JuJu Smith-Schuster in the first two rounds, two dynamic players who could have made the Pro Bowl. James Conner, their third pick last year, did make the Pro Bowl. Cornerback Cam Sutton is seeing more playing time after his rookie season was derailed by injury. Josh Dobbs is the backup quarterback to Ben Roethlisberger.

They also signed cornerback Joe Haden and tight end Vance McDonald as free agents last year.

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Turning to the 2018 draft, safety Terrell Edmunds has started 13 games and James Washington may finally be emerging at wide receiver. Chuks Okorafor has done well as a fill-in tackle and in his one start at Denver. The Steelers fleeced the Oakland Raiders, trading Martavis Bryant for a third-round pick that helped them draft Mason Rudolph, who may be their future starting quarterback. Jaylen Samuels will make his third straight start at halfback after running for 142 yards against the New England Patriots.

Those are two good years of talent accumulation, especially when they have been drafting near the ends of the rounds because of their success on the field.

It began with Watt, taken with the 30th overall pick. He has two more games to add to his 11 sacks. Another three would vault him into the top five in franchise history for a season.

But it’s not just sacks.

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Watt is the only NFL linebacker to have at least 55 total tackles (he has 58), 10 sacks (11) and 10 tackles for losses (11). He also has 20 quarterback hits, four forced fumbles and a blocked field goal.

Watt has quickly become the next great Steelers outside linebacker in a long line of them.

“It’s great to see him get that jump from his first to second year,’’ guard David DeCastro said. “He’s become a young veteran guy, if you will.”

Ben Roethlisberger called Watt an “animal” after he tortured Tom Brady on Sunday.

“Yeah, he is,’’ DeCastro said, laughing. “You can tell, that whole family, they must just have been wrestling and beating each other up, all growing up in the woods and probably in the snow with no shirts on. That’s the kind of feel you get. They’re relentless.”

Watt says he did not know his sack total was a franchise-best for the first two years in the NFL. He says about not making the Pro Bowl, “I’m just here to win a Super Bowl.”

Stats? Honors? Bah-humbug.

“I don’t get caught up in all that stuff,’’ Watt said. “You can’t. If you do, that’s all you think about. And if you think about anything but a win and beating the guy across from you, then you get all caught up and your head gets in all different places and stuff happens.

“I’ve been trying to have as much fun as possible and play as well as I can for my team.”

Mission accomplished, but there are more ahead. Drew Brees may be the MVP of the league this season for a reason, and his effectiveness against the Steelers on Sunday in New Orleans might depend in large part on whether he avoids the kind of pressure Watt put on Brady.

“Yeah, he has some of the best footwork, if not the best footwork, in the NFL,’’ Watt said. “To be able to get back there and affect that footwork he has and get him out of rhythm would hopefully help us on the back end.”

Watt knows it will be loud in the Superdome on Sunday afternoon, knows they won’t have that advantage getting a jump off the line of scrimmage to get to Brees as they did in Heinz Field.

“You can always see the camera shaking when they’re out there, let’s you know they’re rowdy,” Watt says. “I’ve never been there. I’m excited.”

Of course he is.

First Published: December 20, 2018, 6:59 p.m.

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