Steelers rookie LB T.J. Watt carving his own niche in league

T.J. Watt might not feel as if he is hitting the NFL wall. But earlier this week, he was taking hits of another type.

“Man, he's really pounding me on the questions, isn't he?” the Steelers' young linebacker said after a reporter relayed yet another unchecked — and good-natured — assertion by Watt's brother, J.J.

For example, the elder Watt, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, insisted during a conference call with Pittsburgh reporters that when the Watt brothers played backyard football growing up in Wisconsin, J.J. won “every one, of course.”

“He said he always won?” T.J. said. “I don't know what he's talking about.”

Monday in Houston, teams J.J. and T.J. Watt play for will face each other for the first time in a formal setting when J.J.'s Texans play T.J.'s Steelers. The 28-year-old J.J., however, won't play because of a broken leg suffered during Week 5.

But while the Watt family will have to wait longer to see the youngest and oldest of their three sons oppose each other, the Christmas game has allowed for a serendipitous opportunity for the clan to gather for a holiday meal.

J.J. plans to host an almost-full Watt family Christmas dinner Sunday. The only reason it won't be perfectly attended is middle brother Derek will be busy playing fullback for the Los Angeles Chargers in a game against the New York Jets.

“We will be able to watch Derek's game, have a little dinner and really spend time together, which will be awesome,” J.J. said.

The best part of having a season-ending injury, J.J. said, is being able to watch his brothers' games. A first-round pick from Wisconsin — where all three Watt boys played — T.J. instantly became a reliable, steady contributor to the Steelers defense. As a 22-year-old, he was taking first-team reps at right outside linebacker from the first training camp practice, and he's played 82.2 percent of the defensive snaps during the 13 games he's played (Watt sat out Sept. 24 at Chicago because of a groin injury).

“He's a super cerebral guy,” veteran outside linebacker Arthur Moats said. “Very smart, and you can instantly see that he was mentally prepared for this season.”

Bud Dupree, the starter at outside linebacker on the opposite side, also was a first-round pick. But Dupree had the benefit of being eased into playing time. During his rookie season in 2015, the Steelers rotated him with Moats at left outside linebacker.

“T.J. came in and was thrown into the fire right away that first day,” Dupree said, “and he handled it pretty well. He's a great athlete, and he learns fast.”

How fast? How about two sacks among the first four snaps played in his professional career? While that was a preseason game, Watt proved it was no fluke when he had two sacks in his regular-season debut four weeks later. And while both sacks came in the third quarter, Watt added an interception of Cleveland's DeShonne Kizer, making for three “splash plays” in a 13-snap span.

In short, Watt wasted no time in showing the Steelers were getting everything they envisioned when they nabbed him with the 30th overall pick.

“He's been a little bit better (than expected),” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said. “He still learning, but the thing about T.J. is really about his mental capacity and knowledge of football that has helped him more than anything else. He doesn't make the same mistake twice. He learns very fast, and he's got a lot of common sense in terms of the game and so I think that helps him quite a bit.”

Watt said his football IQ came, in part, from having two older brothers in the league. T.J. said J.J. “truly is my role model,” and the mentorship goes well beyond pass-rushing moves or coverage skills.

One of the most recognizable and marketable players in the NFL, J.J. Watt is as comfortable in front of a camera or a group of reporters as he is rushing an opposing quarterback. Watt famously used his platform to raise more than $37 million for relief for the Houston-area victims of Hurricane Harvey.

“I have been able to take a lot of good coaching points (from J.J.) just from a media standpoint,” T.J. Watt said. “I used to dread talking to (reporters) because I didn't know how to do it. But he's very professional in everything he does, so I have been able to take notes in how he answers certain questions and things like that.”

On the field, T.J. hasn't quite yet reached the Hall of Fame-caliber level of his eldest brother, but he's been pretty good for a rookie. Watt has six sacks and six passes defended. His strip-sack of Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco two weeks ago sealed an AFC North-clinching victory for the Steelers.

J.J. Watt said as he watched that game on the couch with his girlfriend, he predicted T.J. would end it with a sack.

That it came during the second week of December — the very milepost in which Watt had his first idle week last year while playing for Wisconsin — was not lost on those who suggested Watt was running into the proverbial “rookie wall.”

Watt sounded defiant when asked about that.

“No, there's no rookie wall at all,” he said. “I think, if I hit anything, I feel like I am refreshed in the back half of the season. I feel great. I'm hungry.”

And not just for Christmas dinner at his brother's.

Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at cadamski@tribweb.com or via Twitter @C_AdamskiTrib.