Matchup of the Week: T.J. Watt vs. Joe Thomas

What battle will be the one to watch on the field each week?

Steel City Underground has you covered with our “Matchup of the Week” series, which highlights one or more key encounters between the Pittsburgh Steelers and their upcoming opponent.

This week’s spotlight is on Steelers first round draft pick, T.J. Watt, as the linebacker will go up against Cleveland’s left tackle Joe Thomas.

The reason this battle is especially intriguing is that earlier in the week Watt was named the starter at right outside linebacker, where he will lineup against the Brown’s best offensive lineman. Thomas is a ten-time Pro Bowl selection and has been named an All-Pro seven times in his career.

Based on last year’s Pro Football Focus grades, Thomas is the sixth-best tackle in the league. He excels primarily in pass-blocking schemes and is considered an average run blocker.

Since Watt has yet to play in the regular season, there are no PFF grades to draw upon other than the preseason, where he was up and down, but never dipped to below average. Watt’s preseason debut was a spectacular one, showing he could rush the passer by accumulating two sacks. However, he also showed ability as a run-stopper throughout the exhibition games, where his prowess in setting the edge has Steelers fans excited for the younger Watt’s NFL future.

How this unfolds on Sunday will give fans a glimpse of what Watt can do against prime NFL competition. He faces the ultimate test right out of the gate. If he performs at an elite level, we can expect T.J. to potentially “level” opponents all season long.

If he’s limited or fails to provide a rush, we won’t want to give him a failing grade just yet either. It just means that a veteran athlete who is a potential future Hall of Famer took the rookie to school.

We can’t wait to see which story unfolds: it could be both!


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