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Derek Watt

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Derek John Watt (born November 7, 1992) is an American football fullback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin, and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. His older brother is J. J. Watt, and his younger brother is Steelers teammate T. J. Watt.[1][2]

Derek Watt
refer to caption
Watt with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020
No. 44 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Position:Fullback
Personal information
Born: (1992-11-07) November 7, 1992 (age 32)
Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:234 lb (106 kg)
Career information
High school:Pewaukee
(Pewaukee, Wisconsin)
College:Wisconsin (2011–2015)
NFL draft:2016 / round: 6 / pick: 198
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2022
Rushing yards:71
Rushing average:2.4
Rushing touchdowns:2
Receptions:18
Receiving yards:178
Receiving touchdowns:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

Watt was born the middle son of three boys to Connie, a building operations vice president, and John Watt, a firefighter. He, his older brother Justin ("J. J."), and younger brother Trent ("T. J.") were born and raised in Pewaukee, Wisconsin.[3]

He attended and played high school football at Pewaukee High School.[4]

Watt attended University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was teammates with his brother T. J. from 2012 to 2015.

College career

Watt played at the University of Wisconsin from 2011 to 2015.[5] He was part of the offense that helped running back Melvin Gordon amass record-breaking rushing yards during his Badger career.[6]

In the 2012 season, Watt had 12 receptions for 150 receiving yards.[7] In the 2013 season, he had three receptions for 20 receiving yards.[8] In the 2014 season, he only appeared in three games on the season.[9] In his final collegiate season in 2015, he had 15 receptions for 139 receiving yards.[10] Gordon and Watt went on to reunite as teammates when Watt was drafted by the Chargers in 2016.[11]

Professional career

Pro Football Focus rated Watt the second-best fullback in the 2016 draft overall, and he also received the second-best blocking grade among fullbacks in the draft.[12]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 2 in
(1.88 m) 		235 lb
(107 kg) 		31 in
(0.79 m) 		10+1⁄8 in
(0.26 m)		 4.77 s 1.63 s 2.73 s 4.32 s 33.5 in
(0.85 m)		 9 ft 8 in
(2.95 m)		 19 reps
All values from NFL Draft[13][14]

San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers

Watt was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the sixth round (198th overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft.[15] He made his NFL debut in the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.[16] Two weeks later, against the Indianapolis Colts, he had his first professional reception, which went for six yards.[17] On October 30, against the Denver Broncos, he had a 53-yard reception.[18] Overall, in his rookie season, he played in all 16 games and had four receptions for 83 receiving yards.[19] In the 2017 season, he appeared in all 16 games and had six carries for 24 rushing yards to go along with two receptions for 35 receiving yards.[20] In the 2018 season, he appeared in all 16 games and had four carries for 11 rushing yards to go along with one reception for two yards.[21] In the 2019 season, Watt appeared in all 16 games, started two, and recorded a rushing touchdown to go along with three receptions for 32 receiving yards.[22]

Pittsburgh Steelers

On March 26, 2020, Watt signed a three-year, $9.75 million deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, reuniting with his brother T. J.[23] On December 21, 2020, he was knocked out as a gunner as he was concussed after being blocked into former Badgers teammate Alex Erickson on a punt return. After spending the whole season with zero yards on offense, Watt ran his first rushing plays with the Steelers in the Wild Card game. During week 8 of the 2022 season at the Philadelphia Eagles, Watt caught a one-yard touchdown on a throw from wide receiver Chase Claypool.

Personal life

Watt married Gabriella Justin in 2018.[24] The couple's first child, son Logan James Watt, was born in February 2019,[25]and their second son, Brayden George Watt, was born in December 2020.[26]

In 2020, Watt appeared in a Subway commercial with his brothers J. J. and T. J. along with their parents John and Connie.[27] Derek, J. J. and T. J. are also the hosts for the TV show Ultimate Tag.

References

  1. ^ Kaplan, Emily (October 12, 2016). "Wisconsin's Watt the Third". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  2. ^ Potrykus, Jeff (August 9, 2016). "T.J. Watt continues his climb with Badgers". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  3. ^ Haley, Andy (April 28, 2017). "How T.J. Watt Transitioned From Tight End to a Top NFL Linebacker Prospect". stack.com. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  4. ^ Radcliffe, JR. "The Wattch: Checking in with Pewaukee brothers J.J., T.J. and Derek Watt during the 2017 NFL season". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  5. ^ "Derek Watt College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  6. ^ "Melvin Gordon: NCAA Statistics & Awards". Sports Reference. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  7. ^ "Derek Watt 2012 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  8. ^ "Derek Watt 2013 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  9. ^ "Derek Watt 2014 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  10. ^ "Derek Watt 2015 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  11. ^ "2016 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  12. ^ "2016 NFL draft live analysis of Day 3 picks". profootballfocus.com. April 30, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  13. ^ "Derek Watt Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". nfl.com. March 1, 2018. Archived from the original on May 28, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  14. ^ "Derek Watt, Wisconsin, FB, 2016 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". DraftScout.com. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  15. ^ Williams, Eric D. (April 30, 2016). "Derek Watt pick by Bolts gets thumbs up from big brother J.J." ESPN. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  16. ^ "San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – September 11th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  17. ^ "San Diego Chargers at Indianapolis Colts – September 25th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  18. ^ "San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos – October 30th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  19. ^ "Derek Watt 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  20. ^ "Derek Watt 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  21. ^ "Derek Watt 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  22. ^ "Derek Watt 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  23. ^ Varley, Teresa (March 25, 2020). "Steelers sign fullback Derek Watt". Steelers.com. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  24. ^ Watt, Gabriella. "Instagram Gabriella Watt birthday". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  25. ^ Watt, Gabriella. "Instagram Logan James Watt was born on February 17, 2019". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  26. ^ "Derek Watt on Instagram: ""In the blue corner, weighing in at a whopping 9lbs 9oz and stretching 21.5 inches long...out of Pittsburgh, PA...Brayden George Watt!" on 12/9/20 we were blessed with the newest addition to our family! Brayden and my wife Gabriella are both healthy and doing extremely well."".
  27. ^ Kuhagen, Christopher. "The entire Watt family stars in new Subway commercial, but we especially love Connie's performance". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
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