Sports

464-Pound (!!) Defensive Lineman Defies Gravity With Mind-Boggling Vertical Leap At Florida Pro Day

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Desmond Watson Weight Vertical NFL Draft Projection
© Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Florida defensive lineman Desmond Watson is the most interesting prospect in the upcoming NFL Draft. He may or may not hear his name called in Green Bay next month, but teams will be lining up to sign him as an undrafted free agent if he doesn’t sneak into the sixth or seventh round.

One thing that we do know for certain is that the soon-to-be former Gators run stopper is the heaviest player in this year’s draft class by a large margin. Quite literally, large.

Watson, a former three-star prospect in the college football recruiting Class of 2021, recorded 63 total tackles in four seasons. Florida primarily used him on early run downs to plug the middle and it worked. Billy Napier also gave him a carry at running back during the bowl game last year, which resulted in a first down. It was the first time in history that a 449-pound lineman ran the ball.

Yes, you read that correctly. Watson was listed on the roster one pound short of 450 as a senior.

However, he was much bigger on Thursday than the roster suggested last fall.

Desmond Watson measured at 6-foot-6, 464 pounds at his Pro Day. Just for perspective, that is more than 120 pounds heavier than Vince Wilfork at his peak.

Although he is big, Watson is not just a fat guy who plays football. He put up 36 reps on the bench press, which would’ve been the highest number of any player at the NFL Combine by three reps, and previously maxed out at 525 pounds.

All things considered, Watson is pretty nimble and fluid for his size.

Scouts were impressed by his balance.

He also ran a 40-yard dash in under six seconds. That number could be much worse!

The most impressive part of his Pro Day was when he defeated gravity with a 25-inch vertical.

There were a large number of athletes at the NBA Draft combine who hovered around the 25-inch mark with their verticals. Desmond Watson matched or exceeded their number at 464 pounds!

I don’t know if Big Des did enough to get drafted, but it was as good of a Pro Day performance as you could ask for. Why not take a flier?