T.J. Watt became the second member of the Watt family to get selected by an NFL team, and his older brother could hardly contain his emotions.
It seemed like T.J. Watt wanted to follow J.J.’s path to the NFL. Like his older brother, he attended Wisconsin, and put together a dominant campaign there. And while he’s a few thousand miles away from Houston, T.J. still got picked by one of the most storied NFL franchises in the Pittsburgh Steelers.
People usually tune in to see the raw emotion of the players after getting drafted, like Takkarist McKinley. But when T.J. Watt got selected 30th overall, J.J. was among the first to congratulate him on Twitter:
YEAHHHHHHH @_TJWatt!!!!!!!!
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) April 28, 2017
Christmas Day is gonna be fun @_TJWatt!
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) April 28, 2017
I wonder if Deshaun Watson is concerned that he was more excited over T.J.’s selection than his own teammate’s.
The Steelers and Texans don’t play each other very often, but they have a very special date on the calendar this year. T.J. will travel to Houston on Christmas Day to play the Texans, and while you can guarantee the whole Watt family will be in attendance, deciding which brother to root for will probably lead to plenty of arguments.
The Steelers are looking to build on a successful campaign when they made it to the AFC Championship Game. But once there, they got embarrassed by the New England Patriots. T.J. himself won’t make their defense better, but he’s a guy who can start right away, and make a meaningful contribution on the field.
As for the Texans, they finished last season with the best defense in the league despite J.J. playing just three games. Jadeveon Clowney really came into his own as an elite pass-rusher, and if they can both stay healthy next year, they should be a team to be feared, especially now that they’ve gotten rid of Brock Osweiler.
Next: 2017 NFL Draft instant grades
The one thing the Texans and Steelers have in common is that their respective seasons ended at the hands of the Patriots. Both Watt brothers will aim to make a meaningful contribution in their teams’ quest to take down the defending champions.