It’s a good thing the Pittsburgh Steelers added to their stockpile of edge rushing talent in the draft last April, picking Jack Sawyer in the fourth round. Alex Highsmith has missed some time already this season with injuries. Now, T.J. Watt is out, dealing with a lung issue from last week. And to make things more dire Nick Herbig is nursing a hamstring injury he sustained against Miami.
With both Watt and Herbig potentially missing action this week, Sawyer could have a much bigger role than he’s used to. But that’s an opportunity the former Ohio State star is ready for, according to defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.
“When it was tough and they needed a big play, he was a guy that was around,” Austin said of Sawyer’s days in college, via Mike DeFabo on X. “He’s not afraid of those moments. I think he’ll be able to step up and give us what we need with an expanded role.”
DC Teryl Austin on watching Jack Sawyer in college: “When it was tough and they needed a big play, he was a guy that was around. He’s not afraid of those moments. I think he’ll be able to step up and give us what we need with an expanded role.”
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) December 18, 2025
A large portion of Sawyer’s work this season has come on special teams. Something most rookie fourth-round picks are familiar with. But he has gotten some work defensively too, with his 210 snaps accounting for 21 percent of the Steelers’ total.
In those snaps, Jack Sawyer has turned some heads. He has one sack, which he recorded in Week 2. He also has eight pressures to his name, and 26 total tackles.
However, he’s still finding his feet in the league. That’s normal for players of his status. But it does leave him and the Steelers a bit vulnerable against the pass. The Dolphins were able to take advantage of Sawyer in coverage last Monday, finding Greg Dulcich right over the top of him. Against the Lions, these types of lapses will hurt. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams both run excellent routes and can make the Steelers pay in these situations.
But against Detroit, stopping the run could be Sawyer’s biggest task. The Lions have a great rushing duo, and have ran the bell efficiently for a couple years now. You can bet they’ll be salivating at the idea of running at a rookie fourth-round pick. That’s an area Sawyer where will need to be strong and play a little better than his current missed tackles rate of 16.2 percent.
Teryl Austin isn’t wrong that Jack Sawyer stepped up in big games when Ohio State needed him to. He returned a fumble 83 yards to the end zone to guarantee the Buckeyes a spot in the national championship game last January. While that type of impact probably won’t happen again, the Steelers really need Sawyer to have a big game on Sunday.
