Steelers Vertex: What does DT Armon Watts bring to the table in Pittsburgh?

The Steelers signed another defensive lineman with a much different skill set than the last player added at the position.

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2023 league year is well underway. For their most recent signing, the Steelers added another defensive tackle. So what does Armon Watts bring to the table for the Pittsburgh Steelers? This is the subject for this week’s Steelers Vertex.

Let’s get a quick reminder of where this nerdiness is coming from.

Vertex– a single point where two or more lines cross.

Sometimes to make a great point, it takes two different systems of analysis to come together and build off each other in order to drawl a proper conclusion. In this case, the two methods are statistical analysis and film breakdown. Enter Dave Schofield (the stat geek) and Geoffrey Benedict (the film guru) to come together to prove a single point based on our two lines of thinking.

Here comes the breakdown from two different lines of analysis.

The Stats Line:

Armon Watts was the 190th selection of the 2019 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings. Watts was selected 15 picks after the Steelers drafted Sutton Smith and was selected two picks before Isaiah Buggs.

In his first season, Watts was inactive for the first nine games before seeing his first action in Week 10. In seven defensive snaps along with one on special teams, Watts tallied three tackles and 0.5 sacks. In the final game of his rookie season, Watts got his first career start and played 60% of the defensive snaps while having three tackles, a forced fumble, and 1.0 sacks.

In 2020 Watts appeared in all 16 games for the Vikings but did not have a start. Through his first two seasons he totaled 44 tackles and 2.0 sacks. But 2021 seemed to be his breakout season where he started nine of 17 games and had two forced fumbles, 46 tackles, and 5.0 sacks, one of which was of Ben Roethisberger.

It was curious when the Minnesota Vikings released Watts ahead of the 2022 season. Some chalked it up to a change in defensive scheme as they switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4. Watts was not unemployed for long as he was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Bears. For 2022, Watts had 12 starts in 17 games with 35 tackles in 1.0 sacks.

Much like Breiden Fehoko, sometimes the stats don’t always tell the story when it comes to defensive linemen. So as we do every week with vertex, let’s check the film.

The Film Line:

Armon Watts looked like a defensive lineman on the rise in 2021, then disappointed in 2022. What happened? For that we are going to look at the skill set he showed in 2021.

Armon Watts (#96) is the defensive tackle second from the bottom of the screen on the line.

This is a common sight. Armon Watts is not a good run defender. He launches up more than forward at the snap, loses leverage, and is driven back steadily. There are good snaps from Watts on run defense, but snaps like this are far more common.

He reminds me a good bit of Carlos Davis when he was drafted in how quickly he shoots upright. The Steelers were able to fix that with Davis, but I wouldn’t have a ton of hope we see that change with Watts as he is going to be 27 when the season starts. Most likely he will be a poor run defender here.

Armon Watts (#96) is the defensive tackle second from the bottom of the screen on the line.

You can see Watts shoots upright here, but in pass plays it doesn’t matter as much. Watts does a good job in this case of staying active and involved in the play and he does a good job containing Jackson in the pocket, limiting him to two yards on a scramble.

Armon Watts (#96) is the defensive tackle second from the bottom of the screen on the line.

Watts is not a high-end athlete, but he does a good job on stunts like this. He doesn’t make the play here, but he gets into the pocket to be a disrupting force. The big thing to notice on these first three is how he is upright and watching the play and then moves. He isn’t a Cameron Heyward or Larry Ogunjobi that can do that while beating his blocker.

Armon Watts (#96) is the defensive tackle second from the bottom of the screen on the line.

This play he isn’t looking first, he’s making a move right away. You can see how shooting upright slows his rush, but after that he is solid and gets in to record a sack on Lamar Jackson. This is when Armon Watts starts to shine— when he can pin his ears back and rush the quarterback.

Armon Watts (#96) is the defensive tackle second from the bottom of the screen on the line.

Again he is watching and containing the quarterback. But this time as Aaron Rodgers runs to his left, Watts gets off his block and gets to the ball in a hurry recording a sack and forcing a fumble.

Armon Watts (#96) is the defensive tackle second from the top of the screen on the line.

This is not common in his film, but as the offensive lineman gives ground, Watts can’t lose first contact and he’s able to deliver a pretty good bull rush, driving the guard back into the pocket. He gets a hand up, convincing Rodgers to throw the ball higher and messing up his accuracy.

Armon Watts (#96) is the defensive tackle second from the top of the screen on the line.

Again the line is giving ground and Watts is able to split the blockers and force Rodgers out of the pocket and into pressure from the edge rusher. On obvious passing situations like end of half drives and when teams are trailing and pass heavy, Watts can pin his ears back and rush where he shows up much more on tape.

The Point:

Because he is better in obvious pass rush situations, Watts looked much better on the Vikings that, on average, were leading on their defensive possessions in 2021. When on the 2022 Chicago Bears, whose average defensive series saw the Bears trailing by 3 points, it was a completely different story. You don’t get pass-happy series at the end of the half when the opponent is already leading, and at the end of the game you see them running the clock out instead of trying to force the ball downfield with longer developing pass plays.

Armon Watts is a rotational depth piece that should fill a similar role to Henry Mondeaux and Isaiah Buggs when they were seeing around 20% of snaps. If the Steelers can pull off an unlikely feat and help Watts get off the snap lower and more effectively, he could be a Chris Wormley level of player. Watts turns 27 in July so it isn’t likely he’s going to make that kind of change. That’s fine as long as the players in front of him stay healthy.