What does Watt do for an encore? How about getting even better? taken on the South Side (Steelers)

KARL ROSER / STEELERS

T.J. Watt practices at the Steelers' OTA session last Thursday on the South Side.

T.J. Watt has been a finalist for NFL Defensive Player of the Year in each of the past three seasons, winning the award last season. He tied the NFL record for sacks in a season with 22.5 in 2021, playing a big part in getting the Steelers into the playoffs and earning his third straight first-team All-Pro nod along the way.

Thing is, Watt, still only 27, feels like he's still getting better.

"I feel like my best football is ahead of me. I'm excited for the season," Watt said as the Steelers finished up their first week of Phase 3 of their OTA sessions here at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "There's so many areas where I feel like I can improve, in the weight room, in the offseason, when I'm here. Finding little details to continue to work on. I'm not satisfied. I feel like this group can be really successful when we're all clicking. I think that's what this time of year is for."

That might sound like lip service at this time of year. But Watt has seen his level of play raise in each of his five NFL seasons, going from a good player as a rookie, when he recorded seven sacks, to a great one in each passing year.

He now has 72 career sacks in 77 games, and needs nine sacks in 2022 to pass James Harrison for the team's all-time lead. Watt and Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White are the only two players in NFL history to have four consecutive 13-sack seasons.

If Watt gets 18 sacks this season -- a big number to be sure, but one he's shown he's capable of reaching -- he would join White as the only players in league history to have 90 in their first six seasons in the league. White had 95.

The next closest player to that is DeMarcus Ware with 80 in his first six seasons. Watt figures to blow past that figure by midseason.

That continuing insistence on getting better each day is a big reason why the Steelers made Watt the NFL's highest-paid defensive player last year, giving him a four-year, $112 million contract. They did that knowing Watt wouldn't rest on his laurels.

It's a family thing passed down from older brothers J.J. -- a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year winner himself -- and fullback Derek Watt, whose locker is next to the youngest of the three Watt brothers in the Steelers' locker room on the South Side.

"I know with all of us, you win an award, it’s about being consistent," Derek Watt said. "He wasn’t trying to win it and then be like ‘Oh cool, I can relax.’ Of course he wants to win it again, just like every other defensive player wants to win that award. I think it motivates him just like it did last year, to string those seasons together. I heard him say yesterday, ‘It’s a good play, then a good series, then a good game, then a good season.’ String them back-to-back. There’s a motivation to be at that level."

That drive is one of the ways T.J. Watt shows his leadership in the locker room. He's gotten more vocal as he's settled into being one of the elder players with the team. But it's the way he goes about his business that really is an example for others to follow.

"It's just one of those things that as I keep continue to progress here, not only being successful on the field, but just continue to be a leader here," Watt said. "It's going on my sixth year. That stuff is just kind of natural, and I'm an open book. I'm not a guy that is uncomfortable sharing information. I'm trying to help this team win a Super Bowl any way possible."

Winning a Super Bowl is one way Watt can get better.

For all of the accolades J.J. Watt has in his career, a Super Bowl has eluded him. The same thing goes for Cam Heyward, who, like J.J. Watt, was a first-round pick in 2011.

So, when T.J. Watt talks about getting better, that is the measuring stick Heyward eyes.

"We can all get better. When you don’t win the Super Bowl, there are still things you can do better, whether it’s getting after the quarterback, getting better in the run game," Heyward said. "We all know our run defense sucked last year. We all take it personally. I don’t know what individually stands out with T.J., but we all have things we can work on. You can always get better at technique. You start to think you’re perfect, you had better be a Super Bowl champion."

That's the ultimate goal.

Winning Defensive Player of the Year and other personal accolades are nice. But winning a championship is the thing that drives great players such as Watt to continue to work to get better.

"We don’t want complacency. We’re all competitive," Derek Watt said of himself and his brothers. "Every defensive player wants to go out there and do what it takes to win. And every offensive player is the same. Now, T.J. knows what to do. He’s been playing at an extremely high level now for a few years. He could have won more than one DPOY. I think he was deserving of more than one. He’s got the template and can continue to build on that and grow."

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