Carter at camp: Watt learning limitations

Before and after the Steelers made T.J. Watt their first-round selection, we knew via film just what kind of player he was for Wisconsin and the intensity he sought to bring off the edge.

The Steelers wanted a bruiser and a fighter to work opposite Bud Dupree at outside linebacker for the foreseeable future, so they got a premier athlete who abused tackles, tight ends and running backs with his power and explosiveness all throughout 2016.

But with every player that comes to the NFL, there are adjustments that need to be made as their opponents improve in size, athleticism and skill at the professional level. Watt's experiencing that hurdle as he works his way through training camp, and that's a very good thing.



Watt's particular style of pass rush was often about being physically stronger and overpowering his opponents in the NCAA. He was very good about the basic fundamentals of coming out of his stance low, getting his hands inside of his man and maintaining a strong leg drive to push his opponent into the backfield and looking to engage with the quarterback.

Here's one of the ways Watt had so much success in the Big Ten:



Notice how he's able to take the tackle where he wants and disengages just in time to be involved in the sack. That's a solid play, but in the NFL he is more likely to encounter offensive tackles who have longer arms to help them win those battles, more strength for him to drive against and better/quicker techniques to get them in place to protect their space.

Watt saw quite a bit of that in Friday's "backs on backers" drill during practice. We aren't allowed to film this portion of the practice, but we took detailed notes on what occurred.

While he didn't go up against offensive tackles, he did go up against veteran tight ends David Johnson and Xavier Grimble.

The goal of the drill is for the offensive player to engage with the linebacker in the manner expected during a game. So in this instance, the tight ends would line up inside of Watt, who would fire off and work to get around or through them in order to get to the quarterback.

In his first attempt Watt faced Johnson and lost. Johnson has earned his keep over the years by being a solid blocking tight end for the Steelers, and he managed to turn back the rookie. Johnson simply got into his stance, used his hands properly to prevent Watt from gaining any inside leverage, and forced Watt to keep fighting through him.

While Watt eventually got free of Johnson, I timed it as five seconds for when he finally shook Johnson off. Five seconds in the pocket for an NFL quarterback is the standard for being able to process defenses and the development of routes, so that's why Johnson got the win.

However, the matchup of the day was when Watt took on Grimble multiple times. The first pair was a push, with Watt losing the first try but winning the second. The two got testy as Grimble controlled Watt a little longer than the rookie would have liked, as he shoved Grimble away.

That's when it got interesting, because Watt was starting to deal with the problem that his traditional way of beating opponents by being physically stronger wasn't going to win him too many battles.

He came back around to beat Grimble in his second attempt, winning the hand battle by getting his hands to Grimble's chest and driving him out of the play.

Watt's next turn would go against a fellow rookie in tight end Phazahn Odom. He would try to employ a move to get around Odom instead of through him, but the rookie tight end from Fordham was prepared and turned Watt back.

That frustrated Watt even worse than his first loss to Grimble. His frustration was so noticeable that James Harrison stepped from among the observers and pulled Watt to the side to help coach him.

"Hey 9-0!" exclaimed Harrison to get Watt's attention. Watt didn't seem to welcome anyone offering advice, but he eventually listened to the two-time Super Bowl champion.

That didn't calm him down, however, as in the next attempt he tried to bulldoze Grimble with a power rush. Grimble was ready and Watt sold out in order to try to drive his opponent further back by putting his head downward as he attacked.

Putting your head down is the eternal cardinal sin of football, especially for linemen and linebackers. It prevents you from seeing what you're doing, makes you more liable to use your helmet as a weapon and puts you at a much more serious risk for a head/neck injury.

When Watt rushed in with his head down against Grimble, the second-year tight end knew exactly what to do and slapped Watt's head down, turning his whole momentum downward and preventing his push from ever being a real threat.

The second time still resulted in a win for Grimble, but it involved Watt using three different techniques to try to get around the tight end, which was good to see, even though they were all stymied. Watt tried to work the outside edge, then rip back to Grimble's inside shoulder and finally tried to swim back to the outside shoulder.

All of the moves were properly countered by Grimble, which shows that Watt could work on them more, but the fact that he was able to recognize his struggle in just one rep and try to go back to different pass rush moves shows that he may be learning from his early challenges.

Watt would get his rematch with two more repetitions against Odom, losing the first because he put his head down again, but winning the second with his preferred style of using his hands to create leverage and driving Odom out of the play so that he could disengage and get after the quarterback.

What is in Watt's favor is that his natural style is very useful in establishing the edge against the run. During the full team drills, Watt had three tackles for loss in which he was able to collapse his edge and close in on the running back to stop the play.

If he gets reps against starting units in the preseason, we may get to see just how well that translates for him as he gets to see if his preferred method holds up. But there's much more to winning the pass-rush battle, which is something the Steelers have been in desperate need of in recent seasons.

The layers to being a productive pass rusher include the need for a variety of polished moves that can work around the long and strong arms that protect the edges of offensive lines in the NFL.

Watt's preferred style may win him some battles on occasion, but he will have to continue to develop other moves if he wants to be the premier pass rusher the Steelers sought when they picked him.

What's encouraging about all of this is that Watt is going all out and throwing everything he has into his first camp, seeing what elements of his game that brought him success in the NCAA translate. While working in an organization like the Steelers, there are going to be plenty of resources to help him discover what other elements he can add.

The facts that he was willing to switch from his traditional bull rush into other pass rush moves, as well as calm down and listen to Harrison during the drill, demonstrate that he understands what he's up against in learning how to be productive on the edge at this level.

If the Steelers have to live with a player who's mainly strong against the run and athletic enough to chase down running backs in space while he figures out his pass rush skills as a rookie, that's a solid season.

But don't think that Watt can't develop more as a pass rusher during the season, as there have been plenty of players who have turned it around more quickly than expected.