Justin Watson (born April 4, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Pennsylvania, where he won the Ivy League Football Championship. He also holds the record for the most receiving yards in conference play in Ivy League history.[1][2]
| No. 17 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |||||||
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| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | April 4, 1996 Bridgeville, Pennsylvania | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | South Fayette (PA) | ||||||
| College: | Penn | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2018 / Round: 5 / Pick: 144 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Roster status: | Reserve/PUP | ||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2020 | |||||||
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College career
Watson played four years for the Quakers and was a three-time All-Ivy League selection (2015–17) and a two-time Ivy League champion (2015, 2016). He set the Penn career records for receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, and all-purpose yards.[3]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+3⁄8 in (1.89 m) |
215 lb (98 kg) |
33+3⁄4 in (0.86 m) |
9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) |
4.44 s | 1.53 s | 2.60 s | 4.26 s | 7.08 s | 40 in (1.02 m) |
10 ft 4 in (3.15 m) |
20 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[4][5][6] | ||||||||||||
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Watson was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.[7] He made his NFL debut on September 30, 2018 against the Chicago Bears.[8] Watson caught his first career pass, a five-yard reception, on October 29, 2018 in a 37–34 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.[9] On December 8, 2019, he caught his first career touchdown, a 17-yard reception from quarterback Jameis Winston.[1]
In Week 10 of the 2020 season against the Carolina Panthers, Watson recorded his first career sack on punter Joseph Charlton during a fake punt attempt during the 46–23 win. Watson was the first offensive player in Buccaneers' history to record a sack.[10][11][12]
On July 24, 2021, it was announced that Watson would be out four months after undergoing knee surgery, and was placed on the PUP list.[13] He was placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list on August 31, 2021.[14]
References
- ^ a b Pride, Brandon (December 8, 2019). "Former Quaker Justin Watson scores first NFL touchdown in breakout performance". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ Princiotti, Nora (April 25, 2018). "Penn's Justin Watson: Ivy Leaguer defying expectations – The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- ^ "Justin Watson". pennathletics.com. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
- ^ Adler, Jacob (March 19, 2018). "Justin Watson shows out at Penn football's Pro Day in advance of NFL Draft". www.thedp.com. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- ^ https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1005895&DraftYear=2018
- ^ http://insider.espn.com/nfl/draft/player/_/id/101807
- ^ Arcia, Gil (April 28, 2018). "Buccaneers take Pennsylvania WR Justin Watson". BucsNation.com. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
- ^ "Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears – September 30th, 2018 – Snap Count". www.Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
- ^ "Buccaneers' Justin Watson: Logs first career catch in loss". CBSSports.com. October 29, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ "Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers – November 15th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- ^ "Did you know @jwat05 was first offensive player in franchise history to record a sack?". Twitter. November 16, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- ^ Patra, Kevin (February 7, 2021). "What we learned from Buccaneers win over Chiefs in Super Bowl LV". NFL.com. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- ^ Easterling, Luke (July 25, 2021). "Bucs WR Justin Watson has knee surgery, expected to be out 4 months". Bucs Wire. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Smith, Scott (September 1, 2021). "Ryan Griffin, Antonio Hamilton Among Bucs' Cuts to Get to 53". Buccaneers.com.