Since the Pittsburgh Steelers selected TJ Watt with the 30th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, it's very easy to make the case that Watt has been among the half-dozen or so most impactful defensive players in the league. With six Pro Bowl appearances, four 1st Team All-Pro nods and a Defensive Player of the Year Award to his name, Watt has the kind of credentials that stack up with some of the game's greatest edge rushers… including big brother and future Pro Football Hall of Famer, JJ Watt.
As is the case with TJ Watt, take a look at JJ Watt's Pro Football Reference page and you'll be overwhelmed by the sheer number of accolades. But the accomplishments don't necessarily do it justice. Watt's run from 2012 through 2015 is among the most dominant by a defensive player in league history. He won three Defensive Player of the Year Awards in a four year span, and finished 2nd in MVP voting in 2014 — he was robbed! But injuries plagued the back-half of JJ Watt's career. He made just one All-Pro team from 2016 through 2022, when he finally decided to hang up his cleats after a second season with the Arizona Cardinals.
JJ Watt has only been out of the league for a year, and according to his younger brother, he hasn't completely ruled out a return to the NFL. During a recent appearance on the Up & Adams Show, the Steelers star edge rusher sparked some flames with his answer to the question, “Is there any window for your big brother to come back?”
To be fair, it's not as if TJ Watt is speaking out of school here. JJ Watt himself has acknowledged that he is still training in the offseason and throughout the year as if a comeback is still a possibility. He even went as far as noting that he told Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, “‘Don't call unless you absolutely need it, but if you ever do call, I'll be there,'” (h/t Garrett Podell of CBS Sports). But even then, that door is only barely cracked open.
How does Steelers' TJ Watt stack up against his older brother?
When it's all said and done, it's incredibly likely that both TJ and JJ Watt will end up enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio — poor Derek Watt will be the odd man out. But now the question becomes, can TJ Watt catch JJ Watt in the minds of unbiased football fans.
There's very little doubt that JJ Watt's peak — again, that 2012 to 2015 run was a sight to behold — tops his younger brother, but TJ Watt has a chance to surpass JJ in terms of longevity. And to be fair, it's not like TJ Watt's numbers through his first 104 career NFL games don't compare quite favorably to his older brother's:
TJ Watt (104 career games) – 401 tackles, 107 tackles for loss, 198 QB hits, 96.5 sacks, 27 forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries
JJ Watt (first 104 career games) – 455 tackles, 154 tackles for loss, 244 QB hits, 92 sacks, 22 forced fumbles, 13 fumble recoveries
In the end, football fans shouldn't hold their breath regarding a possible JJ Watt comeback. But we can settle for the next best thing… watching his younger brother wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks.
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