T.J. Watt fits the Steelers linebacker tradition perfectly

The regional identity of Western Pennsylvania is tied up in its professional football team. The identity of that team has long been tied up in its linebackers.

Now the Steelers have another big name, and Pittsburgh’s probably going to make a big deal about T.J. Watt.

The Steelers drafted Watt, the younger brother of Texans end J.J (and Chargers fullback Derek), with the 30th pick in the NFL draft. General manager Kevin Colbert and coach Mike Tomlin didn’t pick Watt because of anything sentimental. But the Watt pick is familiar for this franchise, and I think I mean that as a compliment.

Linebackers have occupied a particular niche in Steelers lore going back to the 1970s. The “Steel Curtain” that catalyzed four Super Bowls in the ‘70s generally refers to the team’s line, anchored by the franchise’s best player ever, Joe Greene. But LBs were a big part of the Steelers ethos back then, too.

Jack Ham and Jack Lambert are inner-circle Steelers all-timers, just as critical to Chuck Noll’s teams as Greene and L.C. Greenwood. The franchise has had 17 linebacker Pro Bowlers, by far the most of any position. The Steelers sucked in the ‘80s, but Ham and Lambert eventually gave way to Jason Gildon and Joey Porter, two star outside backers, at the turn of the millennium.

Porter, James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons, LaMarr Woodley, and ageless wonder James Harrison have all keyed Super Bowl runs. A few of those occupy the top slots on the Steelers all-time sacks list, with Harrison at No. 1 with 79.5 career takedowns. The Steelers have had Hall of Fame-level QBs, but defense has been their central theme.

Linebackers are the ones who get cheered loudest when they run out of the tunnel at Heinz Field. They’re the ones whom we, as Pittsburghers, use to rationalize why other teams will always cower against us. (I’m not saying it’s a rational thing; it’s just a thing.) Pittsburghers love linebackers as much as they love eating french fries on their sandwiches, which is to say we really love them a lot.

He’s a pass rusher, in short.

Watt is an outside backer, unlike his hell-raising defensive end of a big brother. He was a college starter for only one year at Wisconsin, but it was a great year. Watt had 63 tackles and 11.5 sacks for the Badgers. Watt is not massive; he measured 6’4, 252 pounds with 21 bench reps at the NFL combine. But he’s an explosive athlete, with a 4.7-second 40 time and a 37-inch vertical leap. He’s going to get sacks. We like sacks.

The Steelers have really enjoyed making this sort of pick in the last few years. They got Jarvis Jones from Georgia in the first round in 2013, which failed. They got Ryan Shazier, an athletic inside linebacker from Ohio State, in 2014. That worked well. They got Kentucky edge rusher Bud Dupree in 2015, and the jury’s still out there.

This is the fourth time in five years the Steelers have gone with an uber-athletic linebacker in the first round. That’s mostly because they’ve been old at the position, but I’m convinced it doesn’t hurt that Pittsburgh always rallies around a good linebacker. Watt would be a thrilling first-rounder in this market even if his last name were not Watt and his brother were not a future Hall of Famer.

The Steelers have a few other outside linebackers who are interesting but flawed. Harrison, the team’s sack leader last season, is going on 39. Dupree’s still developing and has had injury problems. Arthur Moats is 29 and best as a platoon linebacker who plays in sub packages. The Steelers drafted Watt so they could play him early.

Watt played in a 3-4 defense, the Steelers’ preferred base, at Wisconsin. I do not know him, but he’s J.J. Watt’s brother and comes from a great college development program, so I bet he’s football-savvy. It wouldn’t surprise me if Watt became an above-average contributor for a playoff team as a rookie.

If he does, he’ll be the toast of the town in a way that’s uniquely Pittsburgh, even though it’s hard to explain.