TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Desmond Watson’s goal is to make people forget about his size and view him for his unique big-man talent.
It’s hard to ignore the heaviest player in NFL history.
Watson’s journey to make the Tampa Bay Buccaneers began this weekend at the team’s rookie camp. He already has dropped between 25-30 pounds since weighing 464 pounds at the league’s scouting combine and he plans to lose more.
“It’s a good story, but I don’t want that to be my narrative,” Watson said Saturday. “I want to be known as a football player and a good football player at that. But I guess it’s nice to make history.”
The 6-foot-6 defensive tackle from Florida is working with a team nutritionist and they haven’t determined an ideal playing weight for him yet.
“It’s still a work in progress,” Watson said Saturday. “There’s a way to go. We’re going to see where I play best, where I feel best at.”
Watson went undrafted last month before his hometown team signed him as a free agent. He couldn’t stop smiling when he met with reporters before his second day of practice.
“I’m happy. It’s a dream come true. I can’t do anything but smile,” Watson said. “My life feels like a movie. You couldn’t write a script where a person goes from little league to high school to college (to the NFL) not having to go out of state.”
Watson, who grew up about 20 miles from Raymond James Stadium, said he’s still never seen snow. He’s excited to learn from another big man, 346-pound defensive tackle Vita Vea. Watson briefly met the two-time Pro Bowler and exchanged a handshake.
Vea is one of the league’s premier defensive players against the run and Watson wants to be “a dominant run-stopper.”
“Being in position to have somebody you look up to and model your game after be a leader and vet at your position group, I feel like I’m blessed,” Watson said.
Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles was impressed with Watson’s first day but cautioned he has a long way to go.
“He looked just as impressive before as he does now, so he’s a huge man. He’s got a lot of size,” Bowles said. “He has to make the team, first of all. Right now, we just have to see how long he can stay on the field and (we) put him on a program where we think he can make some progress. I think that’s the biggest thing for us to do, right now. We didn’t get him to say, ‘Hey, we have to put you on the field right now.’ It’s, ‘Hey, we can try to put you on this program and see what we can come up with and see if we can get our endurance better,’ and have him become a better player that way, then kind of see where he is. To judge him right now is very early and we didn’t get him for the tush push, we got him because we really thought he could play. It’s just a matter of getting him to the point where he can play more than two or three plays a (drive).”
Watson’s size and affable personality have made him a fan favorite. He has plenty of supporters rooting for him to make the team and make an impact.
“I’ve felt the love,” Watson said. “Mainly because it’s unheard of, I feel like people gravitate toward me. It’s been that way my whole life as far as just the energy I carry around. I do appreciate it.”
Watson wowed NFL scouts last month by repping 225 pounds a whopping 36 times, which topped any bench-press performance at this year’s combine. He covered the 40-yard dash in 5.93 seconds and recorded 25 inches in the vertical jump.
Watson finished his collegiate career with 63 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks. He also reluctantly carried the ball for a 1-yard gain and lined up at fullback for a few more plays against Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl in December.
“It was special,” Watson said of his carry. “A lot of my supporters were trying to get me and the coaching staff to do it. I was always against it, but I felt like to finish off my college career, I had to give people what they wanted to see.”
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AP Pro Football Writer Mark Long in Jacksonville contributed to this report.
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