The Pittsburgh Steelers are experimenting with all kinds of new things in training camp, especially the front five on defense. A lot of the team's stagnation in recent years has come from the predictability and questionable decisions made in that front, and new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has been making sure to rotate everyone to figure out which lineup works the best. If all goes well, this will be a very exciting defense to watch throughout the whole year.
Taylor Ollason / Pittsburgh Steelers
New Steelers defensive coordinator Patrick Graham works with the defense as the team practices during an Organized Team Activities (OTAs) workout in Pittsburgh, PA.
His ideas seem to already be paying off. While reporting from training camp, Steeler Nation's own Brandon "B-Wall" Wallace spoke about star edge rusher TJ Watt already showing off his skills from the other side of the line of scrimmage with a pick-six off of Aaron Rodgers.
Watt with the INT off Rodgers over the middle and takes it to the house! Again, both sides sort of half trying, but it got a good cheer from the crowd. Herbig made sure Rodgers heard about it, they’ve been “friendly” chirping at each other all camp so far. #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/oUt6JJq363
— B-Wall (@BWall) August 1, 2026
Watt had what is likely his worst healthy season in the NFL back in 2025. A lot of that was due to the fact that Watt only played left outside linebacker (LOLB) due to his own lack of motivation to switch sides. Opposing offenses were able to gameplan around shutting him down, and it worked very well, leading to the Steelers being dreadful on that side of the ball pretty much all season long.
Even in an unpadded practice where both sides are going through the motions more than trying, seeing Watt fool Rodgers and get an interception only proves Graham right. When offenses have to keep track of where he is at all times, he becomes more productive. The key is to make the opponents think too much. When you're living in their head rent free, you've already won.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers edge rushers TJ Watt and Nick Herbig celebrate together during an NFL game.
The few times the Steelers have had Watt switch sides during games in recent years, it worked out great. Moving him around against the New England Patriots in 2025 led to him getting more one-on-one reps on his normal side, which led to the whole defensive racking up five sacks and multiple takeaways. The former Defensive Player of the Year was the main one causing all these splash plays.
In 2024, it happened in the second half against the New York Giants as well. During that timeframe, he and Alex Highsmith tortured quarterback Daniel Jones in the pocket, as they each racked up multiple sacks. The more the offensive line thought, they worse they were, and it led to a key win for the Steelers on Monday Night Football. Despite it working so well, Watt just seemingly never wanted to do it again.
Steelers Are Expected To Do More Walking And Less Talking
In 2025, there was a ton of public talk between coaches and players about how "historic" this defense would be with all the talent on the field. However, all these big names could not gel together, which led to some of these players getting cut in the middle of the season, as well as the aforementioned terrible unit statistically. They talked a big game, but they couldn't put their money where their mouth was.
So far, there has not been a lot of talk internally about how amazing this defense could be. They're more focused on seeing Graham's vision through and mastering the basics. That starts with Watt playing both outside linebacker positions to confuse the offense. It goes through communication with the entire unit and results in everyone doing their jobs right: less talking, more action.
What do you think about Watt already making an impact while switching sides? Were you impressed with Watt’s highlight play in training camp on Day 4? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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