1.) Pittsburgh Steelers:
The Steelers are coming off a roller coaster of a season. After an impressive 11-0 start, the team lost 4 of its last 5 games and ended up getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs after losing 48-37 to the division rival Browns. Given the inconsistency of the offense down the stretch last season, making a move for Watt would solidify the Steelers on the other side of the ball in a huge way. The team’s already stout defense is led by none other than JJ’s very own brother TJ Watt who many believe could have easily been named Defensive player of the year last season considering he was a league leader in just about every major defensive category. A Watt brother reunion could be just what the Steel Curtain needs to help ensure the teams success going forward given how many question marks their offense currently has facing them with JuJu’s impending free agency and Big Ben’s clock seemingly ticking.
2.) Green Bay Packers:
The Packers will be contenders in the NFC with or without Watt as long as number 12 is at the helm. But Rogers isn’t getting any younger and if the Green Bay front office isn't willing to go out and get him some help on offense, the least they can do is invest some money in their defense, which has only finished top 10 in the league twice in the last decade. One of those two seasons, yes you guessed it, was 2010 which for those keeping score at home was Green Bay's last Super Bowl. While the defense did take a step forward last season, that was in large part due to the secondary being held down by All-Pro corner Jaire Alexander. If Watt were to have his Wisconsin homecoming, not only would he be joining one of the league's best corner's in Alexander, but he'd also be lining up alongside Za’Darius Smith who had the 4th highest sack total last year with 12.5.
3.) Buffalo Bills:
The Bills were one of the hottest offenses in the league last year, but they fell short in the AFC title game. Josh Allen emerged as a potential MVP candidate while Stefon Diggs proved to be worth the draft picks the team gave up when they acquired him from Minnesota after the ’19 season. Allen was top five in the league for both yards and TD’s while Diggs led the league in receiving yards and receptions so why not try to make it two years in a row with one of the league’s best signings. Not only would Watt solidify the d-line, but he'd be bringing much needed veteran leadership to a young defense, which Bills fans hope would be enough to take that next step and make it out of the AFC and all the way to the big game next season.
4.) Tennessee Titans:
Everyone knows the Titans game plan by now, feed Derrick Henry as much as possible. However, in order for this to work, you need a capable defense to help control the pace of play. The Tennessee defense was not great last season, finishing in the bottom half of the league in terms of total defensive ranks, but their secondary still managed to put up decent numbers, and Watt would be making an immediate impact as far as pressuring the QB goes. Signing JJ could be what they hope is the key to getting back to the AFC title game and hopefully one step further to the Super Bowl this time around.
5.) Arizona Cardinals:
The Cardinals made massive headlines last offseason when they pulled off one of the most lopsided trades in recent history with the Houston Texans, acquiring DeAndre Hopkins who many consider to be the best wideout in all of football. All they gave up was a couple non first round picks and an aging running back in David Johnson (no offense, Johnson was productive in 2020 but it doesn’t really compare to D-hop’s numbers). The Texans downward spiral continued from there as here we are less than a year later and the team has a new HC, an alienated franchise QB who wants to be traded, and the long-time face of their franchise is searching for a new home. So, it’s like DeAndre Hopkins said himself, "let’s finish what we started." The Cardinals offense took a huge step forward last season as Hopkins proved to be the x-factor they were looking for to help Kyler Murray take that next step. With the offense showing improvement, and a defense that already consists of players like Chandler Jones, Budda Baker, Patrick Peterson and Dre Kirkpatrick, adding Watt to this equation could elevate the Cards to becoming legitimate contenders in the NFC as well as a potential destination for other free agents as they are still a young team with plenty of opportunity for growth.
Written by: Jonathan Abbott
February 17th, 2021