On the defensive side of the ball, one of the most important roles is pass rushing. The defense has focused specifically on reaching quarterbacks as the league’s crime shifts further towards prioritizing passes. With the Pittsburgh Steelers making quality defenses year by year, it’s no surprise that one of the franchise players has appeared from that role in TJ Watt.
Watt has long been considered one of the best, if not the best, in the league. He has a rivalry with Miles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns, and the two have been in their own league for the past six months. However, over the past few years, Mika Parsons has emerged as one of the younger passing rushes throughout the league.
Thursday, Zach Gelb from Infinity Sports Network Now I asked Parsons about his top five pass rush. Surprisingly, Watt couldn’t find his way on that list.
“You said a pure pass rush,” Parsons said. “When you see what I’m doing, what Miles does, we all move around. I do the right tackle, I play my nose, I play the left guard, my right guard. Speaking of pure pass rushing, it’s probably a few of us who are in our own league, and everyone else is almost high-end rushing. There’s no versatility. They don’t move around. They We won’t create a match.”
This was the second straight season where Parsons offers such commentary in Watts, leaving him out of last year’s top five.
Part of Parsons’ reasoning is that Watt doesn’t move around as much as he and Garrett. Watt also appears to be more ready to move around, so he’s not wrong about it. Still, Watt is a difficult player to rule out this list. Watt was 7.5 bags less than 2024, but his 11.5 bags were just behind Parsons’ 12.
Parsons still offered a jab, even if he gave Watts credit.
“He’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame one day,” he said of Watt. “But I’m a pure pass rusher where the league is now. So come along for your team. I don’t think it’s close.”
For Parsons, it seems to come down to his pure definition of pass rush. Watt hasn’t stacked up on other defenders in that role, but according to Parsons, he’s still giving Watt a flower. His game could evolve even further if Watt gets to move around in terms of future alignment. It may even change Parsons’ mind.
