Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated tabbed Pittsburgh Steelers ' second-year outside linebacker Jack Sawyer as a potential breakout player in 2026.
"Herbig raved about Sawyer while speaking with [Cam} Heyward on his podcast. This is certainly a bold prediction because Sawyer, the 2025 fourth-round pick, has to fight for snaps playing with Watt, Herbig and Highsmith, and he only generated one sack while playing 25% of the defensive snaps as a rookie. But Sawyer's high motor was noticeable in college (he won a national title at Ohio State) and, clearly, the Steelers have a track record of developing edge rushers," Manzano wrote. "If Sawyer shows improvement and with Herbig paid, perhaps the Steelers would consider moving a player from the potential logjam at edge rusher."
Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Jack Sawyer after a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 9, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
During an appearance on The Christian Kuntz Podcast in February, Sawyer reflected on his rookie season with the Black and Gold.
"Once you get in the swing of it, like playing, man. I love ball so much that I think, for me, it's fun when you're playing games and constantly game planning. And you got a game on Sunday, Monday, getting competitive and obviously making the playoffs was great," Sawyer said.
Sawyer finished the season with three splash plays — two interceptions and a strip sack. The strip sack came in the Steelers' Wild Card round playoff loss to the Houston Texans .
Late the first quarter, Sawyer came off the edge and stripped the ball from Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud . Black was right there to recover the loose ball.
The Texans tried to trick the Steelers with a flea-flicker but Sawyer was not fooled. Sawyer's heads up play possibly saved a touchdown, as a Texans receiver was open downfield.
"Getting to see what that atmosphere was like was awesome. Stadium was rocking, obviously it got away from us at the end," Sawyer said. "My grade for myself, I give myself like a B- minus, C-plus. I think I got a lot of room to grow. I think I started to come on a little bit late in the year, getting comfortable."
Former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin gave Sawyer a ringing endorsement during his weekly press conference ahead of the team's Week 16 game against the Detroit Lions .
"Jack is doing what a lot of young, quality defenders do: They make the best with what you ask them to do, and they work in all areas and get better," Tomlin said. "Usually those that are playmakers on special teams eventually become playmakers on defense, and he's certainly been that for us. He's made some plays on teams. He made some plays on teams last night. And so, I'm never surprised when they transfer that playmaking to the defensive side when they get more opportunities to do so. He's had some opportunities this year, has made some plays, has had a sack, has had an interception, and so I wouldn't be surprised if he displays that readiness if he gets an expanded role opportunity this week."
Sawyer hopes he can build off his promising rookie campaign.
"I think this year was fun. It was really good. I think first coming into the NFL, you never know how it's gonna be," Sawyer said. "Honestly, it was great with the guys we got in the locker room. I think I hit on that last time. Long season coming off the natty and training. I feel like you never stopped for about two years straight. So that was kind of tough in its own right. I hit the rookie wall like day four of fall camp [training camp]."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Analyst Makes Eye-Opening Prediction on Jack Sawyer
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