The Pittsburgh Steelers added yet another gritty edge rusher to the squad when they drafted Jack Sawyer out of Ohio State 123rd overall.
The reigning National Champion joins T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig to form what could be the best foursome of edges in the NFL.
Sawyer Brings an Edge to AFC North That Aligns With Steelers’ Style of Play
Sawyer is coming off a College Football playoff run that showed exactly what the 22-year-old is about. His hard-hitting, heart-on-his-sleeve play style are just a few qualities that make him the perfect Steeler.
Before the 2025 NFL Draft, Sawyer was asked which NFL QBs he looks forward to sacking most. His answer further cements his Steeler DNA, as Mike Tomlin would say.
Jack Sawyer before the draft on QBs he wants to sack:
“I’m excited to try to sacks guys like Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes Jalen Hurts Lamar Jackson.”#steelers
🎥YT/NFL on NBC pic.twitter.com/FlpySANTvT
— Matthew Luciow (@matthewluciow92) May 1, 2025
“That’s what it’s all about, going against the best guys week in and week out,” Sawyer said. “I’m excited to try to sack guys like Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, the best of the best, Lamar Jackson. All those guys, it’s gonna be fun getting after them.”
Pittsburgh drafted a pair of passionate Buckeye standouts in Sawyer and QB Will Howard. Two players who could have their fingerprints all over the 2025 season.
Before looking ahead, how did Pittsburgh do before adding Sawyer and company on the defensive side of the ball in 2024?
Steelers Defense Amongst Best To Open 2024, Fizzled Out As Campaign Played Out
The black and gold opened 2024, allowing just 26 points through the opening three weeks. Their stout defense led to a 3-0 start with Super Bowl chants whistling around the city of bridges. That slowly panned out as Pittsburgh dropped their next two contests to the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys, giving up 47 points between the two.
Despite a few hiccups the rest of the season, the Steelers’ defense was fairly average against the rest of the pack. This earned the steel curtain a 12th-place finish on PFSN’s 2024 NFL Defense+ metric. Their 78.7 (C+) grade was enough to propel them above several strong NFL sides. Ultimately, it would not matter as Derrick Henry and the Baltimore Ravens dismantled their rivals in the Wild Card round.
The poor rush defense was a catalyst in taking strong defenders three of their four opening selections in the 2025 draft. Sterling Xie details how the poor rush defense riddled Pittsburgh’s chances last season.
“The season-long numbers still portray an elite pass defense, but some of the cracks that were there all along fully broke. In the Wild Card loss to the Ravens, a run defense that was roughly league average in the regular season got trampled. Pittsburgh recorded a season-worst 46% rushing success rate, also the worst by any defense in the Wild Card round.”
“While still a talented unit, longtime stalwarts T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward are aging and can’t prop this unit up forever. Injuries in the secondary didn’t help down the stretch, but the Steelers need to support their veteran stars with better depth to return to a top-10 rank next season.”
General manager Omar Khan and Pittsburgh brass seemingly took the advice of Xie, adding Sawyer, Derrick Harmon, and Yahya Black all as depth pieces for the aforementioned Watt and Heyward.
With a mix of legendary veterans and spry youth, you will want to keep an eye on the 2025 Steelers defensive unit.