Former Wisconsin football icon T.J. Watt was included in ESPN’s list of the top 10 edge rushers entering the 2025 NFL season earlier this month.
Watt, who became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history on July 17, landed at No. 2 on the list behind Cleveland Browns superstar and future Hall of Fame inductee Myles Garrett. Dallas Cowboys All-Pro Micah Parsons (No. 3), Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby (No. 4), San Francisco 49ers stronghold Nick Bosa (No. 5), Cincinnati Bengals sack machine Trey Hendrickson (No. 6), Detroit Lions rising star Aidan Hutchinson (No. 7), Houston Texans edge rushers Will Anderson Jr. (No. 8) and Danielle Hunter (No. 9) and Los Angeles Ram Jared Verse (No. 10) rounded out the list.
As one of the most dominant defensive players in Pittsburgh Steelers history, Watt’s position on the ranking is close to irrefutable. As a 30-year-old in 2024, the former Badger tallied 61 tackles, 11 1/2 sacks, 27 quarterback hits, a league-best six forced fumbles and four pass deflections in 17 games for Mike Tomlin’s squad.
With eight full seasons on his professional resume, Watt has led the league in sacks three times (2020, 2021, 2023), been named to four First-Team All-Pro squads (2019-21, 2023) and reeled in one Defensive Player of the Year Award (2021). Since he entered the NFL, the Pewaukee, Wisconsin, native has accumulated 108 career sacks, 126 tackles for loss, 33 forced fumbles and 225 quarterback hits.
Here’s what ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, backed by a survey of dozens of NFL league executives, coaches and scouts, had to say about Watt’s place in the hierarchy:
“Watt is a worthy rival to Garrett in the AFC North. His 108 career sacks rank third all-time for a player’s first eight seasons, behind Reggie White (124) and DeMarcus Ware (111). He’s a near-lock for an All-Pro team every year. And he leads the NFL in forced fumbles (10) over the past two seasons, along with being second in sacks (30.5) and quarterback hits (63)… ‘He’s still the gold standard for me,” a veteran AFC defensive coach said. “He completely wrecks a game and he can do everything.'”
At No. 31 on the NFL’s official sack list, Watt could climb to as high as No. 20 next season. That journey begins with a showdown against the New York Jets on Sunday, Sept. 7, at MetLife Stadium.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin legend included in ESPN’s list of top edge rushers entering 2025 NFL season
Reporting by Mike Hall, Badgers Wire / Badgers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
