T.J. Watt on Cover of October Sports Illustrated

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. will grace the cover of Sports Illustrated’s October issue.

.@_TJWatt: AFC Defensive Player of the Month & on the cover of October's issue of @SInow 😤 pic.twitter.com/wiwQccrmR1

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 2, 2020

Titled “T.J. Watt and the Art of the Takeaway,” the cover story explores how the former first-round pick has become one of the NFL’s best at forcing turnovers. Watt led the league with eight forced fumbles in 2019, and has four career interceptions.

The announcement comes just a day after Watt was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Month for September. Through three games, he has nine total tackles, five tackles-for-loss, 3.5 sacks and an interception.

Selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Watt is in the midst of his fourth season with the Steelers. He finished third last season for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

From the swipe, to the punch out, to disguises that further the symbiosis between coverage and pass rush, defenses are aggressively searching for ways to take the ball away.

And no one does it better than T.J. Watt and the Steelers, writes @JennyVrentas https://t.co/KOtkQx6B8k

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 1, 2020