Steelers OLB Alex Highsmith Looks Poised for Breakout

Last Sunday’s win against the New York Jets was the first time that Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher Alex Highsmith since September 22nd due to a groin injury. If you’re a listener to the Steelers Afternoon Drive Podcast on Friday’s, I predicted that he was in for a breakout performance and while that claim didn’t necessarily come to fruition in the stat sheet, the tape showed some encouraging things. The fifth-year pro finished with three pressures, two quarterback hits and an additional run stop on the night according to PFF. It was a sight for sore eyes and hopefully some foreshadowing of things to come down the stretch.

As the game wore on, you began to really see Highsmith begin to implant his stamp on this contest. Those soft tissue injuries can be really tricky especially for speed rushers. After all, this injury was a re-aggravation from a setback in the offseason. Perhaps more important than counting statistics, Highsmith looked like himself from a physical standpoint, showcasing his signature burst off the ball and bend around the arc.

Highsmith proclaimed that he’s close to returning to form after his injury.

“It was more of a limited snap count this past week. But I feel like I’m getting really, really close to 100%. It just felt great to be back out there with the guys… Just looking forward to getting better every week and continue to rehab and stay on top of it so nothing else happens.”

One of the reasons that I was bullish on the Jets matchup is that New York’s left tackle Tyron Smith had struggled immensely in pass protection through the early portion of the season. Now at 33-years old after a lengthy list of injuries have seemingly taken its toll on the eight-time Pro Bowl selection, he’s just not moving the same these days. Once Highsmith got settled in and the rest of the defense got settled down, he started to really got to work.

His first high quality win came in the second quarter where he met Aaron Rodgers immediately following his three-stop drop back, bending under Smith with a sweet ghost move. In the second half came a second effort rip move on the outside track followed by another ghost move for yet another quarterback hit. These quick pressures made an impact despite not registering sacks in the box scores. Rodgers, who has one of the quickest time to throw figures in the entire NFL, did well to get the ball out quickly to avoid a negative play but all three of those reps resulted in incompletions due inaccurate throws.

Beyond his impact as a pass rusher, he made his presence felt as a run defender. There were multiple examples of him setting a hard edge, shedding blocks quickly en route to the ball carrier while still showing his signature hustle on a play to play basis. The Jets finished with a 31% rushing success rate on the night and his contribution to that was a big reason, along with the turnovers that helped create a multi-score lead, that New York was forced into being one dimensional on offense. That’s where this Steelers front can really get after people.

We saw this play out all of last year, too. He has developed himself into a more complete player without any targetable weaknesses. Highsmith’s pressure and win rate were both up but his sack totals dipped a year after recording his first double digit sack campaign. It’s safe to say that he’s due for some positive regression.

The good news is that he gets another friendly matchup this week with Giants superstar left tackle Andrew Thomas on injured reserve for the time being. Because of the loss, the coaching staff is turning to a former third round selection in Josh Ezeudu, who was drafted as a guard but shifted outside recently in the league. This past Sunday was his first start of the season and things didn’t go as planned. He was beaten for multiple sacks in that game, both of which came on the outside track which is where Highsmith likes to live and he wasn’t a net positive in the run game either. It’s also worth noting that Giants signal caller Daniel Jones is prone to making mistakes when under pressure.

With opposing teams allocating so many resources to minimizing T.J. Watt’s impact as a rusher, Pittsburgh will be depending on Highsmith to dominate his one on one matchups. The defense as a whole has been good thus far this season but currently ranks 22nd in pressure rate and 21st in sack percentage among NFL teams according to Next Gen Stats. The path to postseason success mostly relies on this defense returning to elite form, particularly as the schedule toughens up as they’ll face better quarterbacks leading more functional offenses down the stretch.

The Steelers are rightfully heavy favorites heading into Monday Night Football and can’t afford a letdown with the chance to head into the bye week at 6-2, right in the mix for the AFC North crown. Starting this week, Highsmith should be in for a big finish to the 2024 season so long as he can stay healthy.

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