Jenna Laine
TAMPA, Fla. — At times, Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie defensive tackle Desmond Watson said his life “feels like a movie.”
His story comes with a unique twist. At 6-foot-6 and a listed weight of 449 pounds, he’s officially the heaviest player in NFL history, but he won’t let that define him.
He grew up in Plant City, Florida, and played collegiately at Florida for four years before signing as an undrafted free agent with the Buccaneers. He played his final college game — the Gasparilla Bowl — at the Bucs’ Raymond James Stadium.
And now he suits up next to Pro Bowl defensive tackle Vita Vea, whom he idolized for years.
“I’m happy,” Watson said. “It is a dream come true. I feel like you can’t do anything but smile.”
Vea is one of the league’s best-known bigger players, and he was listed at 347 pounds last year. No current player in the league besides Watson is over 400 pounds.
“I’ve felt the love,” Watson said. “I feel like people can really gravitate towards me.”
Throughout his life, he said it has been that way: People have wanted to be around him and appreciated his energy. But also, there’s a curiosity that comes with his size.
“It’s mostly unheard of,” Watson said.
“We just haven’t seen someone that size,” Bucs defensive line coach Charlie Strong added.
Prior to Watson, the heaviest player was offensive tackle Aaron Gibson at 410 pounds, followed by offensive tackle Terrell Brown at 403 pounds, offensive guard Nate Newton at 401 pounds, offensive guard Mike Jasper at 394 pounds, offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie at 386 pounds and defensive tackle William “Refrigerator” Perry at 382 pounds.
“I feel like my name is etched in history, of course, as being the official heaviest player in the NFL, and whatnot,” Watson said. “It’s a good story, but at the same time, I don’t want that to be my narrative and things like that. I want to be known as a football player, and a good football player at that. But it is nice to be able to make history, I guess.”
The current direction of the league suggests Watson will be useful on fourth-and-1, one of the most critical and controversial situations. The league saw an NFL-record 71.5% fourth-and-1 conversion rate in 2024, and the “tush push” play received heavy scrutiny as a result — enough that the league voted on its existence. The proposed ban did not receive enough votes Wednesday at the league meeting, so it’s here to stay for at least another year.
“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,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. “It’s just a matter of getting him to the point where he can play more than two or three plays [per drive].”
To Bowles’ point — Watson was part of a rotation at Florida. He played 297 defensive snaps for the Gators this past year — eighth most among Florida’s defensive linemen — and appeared in all 13 games, with two starts. The year prior, he played 169 snaps in 12 games.
In 51 games with 163 snaps where the down and distance was 3 yards or fewer, Watson produced a 4.1% run stop win rate. While rushing the passer, he produced a 1.2% pressure percentage with five total pressures and 1.5 sacks in college, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He had four tackles for a loss in that span and averaged 1.3 tackles per game. On 140 pass rush plays in 2024, he had two total pressures.
The numbers aren’t staggering, but the coaching staff is curious about his untapped potential.
DESMOND WATSON GETS THE FIRST DOWN 😤 pic.twitter.com/jxJDiWXbzR
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) December 20, 2024
“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,” Bowles said. “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.”
Watson’s weight has climbed since arriving at Florida. He was listed at 385 pounds as a freshman, 415 as a sophomore, 435 as a junior and 449 as a senior. He weighed 464 at his pro day, and recorded 36 reps on the bench press, a 5.93 40-yard dash and a 25-inch vertical jump.
Gators coach Billy Napier sees positives.
“He’s had numerous nutritionists, numerous position coaches, numerous strength coaches, and I think this past year, we probably executed the best we have,” Napier said in March. “And I thought he played his best football of his career. In general, I think he’s learned a lot about habit-building, self-discipline.”
There is no target weight yet for Watson. The team’s strength staff and nutritionists are working on a plan for him when the team breaks from minicamp in mid-June. They will reassess when he comes back for training camp at the end of July.
“It’s still a work in progress, so it is a ways to go,” Watson said of his journey. “We’re just going to see where I play best at, where I feel best at.”
Watson already has a relationship with Strong, whom he met when Strong attended his college practices and whom he sought out during the Bucs’ local prospect workout in Tampa. When it comes to diet discipline and accountability off the field, that can go a long way.
“He works, and he don’t mind working,” Strong said. “I know with his size, everybody wants to make a big deal about it. But our players — even the guys who are around him right now in our room — they just look at him like, ‘He’s just like us. He’s got to go about his work and do his job.'”
Strong said consistency in Watson’s daily habits will be key.
And if all else fails, the Bucs will have a secret weapon they can turn to — his mother, Deonzia Woullard, who also grew up a Bucs fan and is big on tough love.
“My mom’s 45 minutes away,” Watson said. “If all else fails, they can get her to get on me.”
