Player: OLB Jack Sawyer
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: While much has already transpired since the Steelers’ season ended, Jack Sawyer deserves some recognition for his last game. Known for making plays in big moments in college, he proved he can do it in the pros, too. With a strip-sack of C.J. Stroud, he made a key play early in the game that kept the Steelers competitive.
One of the big reasons the Steelers drafted Jack Sawyer was because of the football personality he displayed in college. He showed that a moment was never too big for him, and he helped fuel the Buckeyes’ 2024 national championship run. Making big plays in big moments, he transcended perhaps even his natural talents.
That’s why he wasn’t an early draft pick but was prized on Day 3 of the draft. He isn’t the most impressive physical specimen, though he certainly isn’t lacking. Sawyer didn’t have elite production, but he got the job done. And he stepped up when his team needed him to step up.
One can argue that he did that this year, coming in as a reserve. The Steelers already had T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig. But Sawyer managed to make some plays in his limited playing time. And when the Steelers needed him most, with Watt and Herbig out, he started and he played well.
With Watt back for the postseason, Jack Sawyer only played 11 snaps against the Texans. But one of his sacks was a strip sack of C.J. Stroud, recovered by fellow rookie Yahya Black. At the time, the Steelers led 3-0, but the Texans were driving. It was 1st and 10 at Pittsburgh’s 40-yard line, Houston coming off two big third-down conversions.
Those are the kinds of plays the Steelers believed Sawyer had in him, and he proved them right. With major changes coming this offseason, it will be interesting to see what that means. A new head coach will be in town, and what will he feel about the salaries and pecking order in that room? DC Teryl Austin likely won’t be back. Sawyer played 294 defensive snaps and 340 special teams snaps, registering 34 tackles, 3 for loss, with 1 sack (another in the postseason), 2 interceptions, 4 passes defensed, and his key postseason forced fumble. Will he be in for a bigger role next year on his cheap rookie deal?
With the 2025 season behind us following the Steelers’ customary early postseason exit, we still have stock to take. After a year of change, they at least accomplished their first goal. They made big moves, like the trade for WR DK Metcalf, and later for Jonnu Smith. Even in-season, the Steelers shifted with Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. But the result ended up being the same as always, so it’s time to start over.
After a long season, we have finally seen that this Steelers team is playoff-bound. But they also showed that their progress was actually minimal, since they made it no further. Two years in a row, with two different quarterbacks, they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card Round. The only differences are they ended the season on a higher note and won the division. But it didn’t help.
