Edge rusher is without doubt one of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ largest strengths with T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig top-of-the-line trios within the league. Nevertheless, that didn’t cease the Steelers from including to that room within the draft. Within the fourth spherical, they made a barely shocking choose by deciding on Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer. Whereas edge wasn’t an enormous want for the Steelers, they’ve a excessive opinion of Sawyer, in line with the Pittsburgh Publish-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo.
“He makes large performs,” Fittipaldo mentioned just lately on the Armstrong Neighborhood Channel. “In case you return to the faculty soccer playoffs, that scoop and rating actually sealed that recreation for them. The Steelers have been truly pleasantly stunned that he was nonetheless there in Spherical 4 at Decide 123.
“In case you take a look at a number of the rankings on the market, NFL Community draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah had him as his quantity seventieth prospect. That’s an early third-round choose. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein had him as a second- or a third-round choose. To get that man within the fourth spherical, I feel it’s a wonderful choose by Omar Khan.”
Many analysts certainly had Sawyer rated increased than his draft slot. He had a profitable profession at Ohio State, enjoying 4 seasons there. In that point, Sawyer racked up 144 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 23 sacks, one interception, and 6 pressured fumbles.
Fittipaldo is appropriate that Sawyer performed a few of his finest ball final yr, too, particularly within the playoffs. His strip-sack of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers basically ended that recreation, propelling Ohio State to the nationwide championship recreation, which it could additionally win.
Nevertheless, there are the reason why Sawyer was obtainable within the fourth spherical. He’s not a terrific athlete, and he’s bought brief arms for his measurement, which might restrict his upside as an NFL cross rusher. Groups would possibly’ve felt extra comfy taking a shot on gamers who appear to have increased ceilings.
Regardless of these points, Sawyer nonetheless has strengths that make him priceless to the Steelers. As an example, he’s a stable run defender, and Pittsburgh might’ve used extra gamers like that final season. The Steelers bought gashed on the bottom too many instances. Their 2025 draft class confirmed that they’re dedicated to altering that.
The Steelers, barring accidents, gained’t want Sawyer to play a giant function this season. That ought to permit him to grow to be a top quality NFL participant. In the previous few years, the Steelers have accomplished a good job of growing edge rushers. Watt, Highsmith, and Herbig are good examples. The Steelers clearly see one thing in Sawyer. We’ll see what sort of heights he can attain within the NFL.
