Derek John Watt (born November 7, 1992) is an American football

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

of the National Football League (NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Wisconsin, and was drafted by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

in the sixth round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. His older brother is

J. J. Watt Justin James Watt (born March 22, 1989) is an American football defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Central Michigan and Wisconsin and was drafted by the Houston Texans i ...

, and his younger brother is Steelers teammate T. J. Watt.

Early years

Watt attended and played high school football at Pewaukee High School.

College career

Watt played at the University of Wisconsin from 2011 to 2015. He was part of the offense that helped running back Melvin Gordon amass record-breaking rushing yards during his Badger career. In the 2012 season, he had 12 receptions for 150 receiving yards. In the 2013 season, he had three receptions for 20 receiving yards. In the 2014 season, he only appeared in three games on the season. In his final collegiate season in 2015, he had 15 receptions for 139 receiving yards. Gordon and Watt went on to reunite as teammates when Watt was drafted by the Chargers in 2016.

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.

San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers

Watt was drafted by the

in the sixth round (198th overall) in the

. He made his NFL debut in the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. Two weeks later, against the Indianapolis Colts, he had his first professional reception, which went for six yards. On October 30, against the Denver Broncos, he had a 53-yard reception. Overall, in his rookie season, he played in all 16 games and had four receptions for 83 receiving yards. 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. 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. 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.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On March 26, 2020, Watt signed a three-year, $9.75 million deal with the

, reuniting with his brother T. J. 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

In 2020, Watt appeared in a Subway commercial with his brothers J. J. and T. J. along with their parents John and Connie. Derek, J. J. and T. J. are also the hosts for the TV show ''

Ultimate Tag ''Ultimate Tag'' is an American sports entertainment obstacle course competition television series that aired on Fox from May 20 to July 29, 2020. The format is based on the game of tag and involves contestants running through various indoor obs ...

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

References

External links

TwitterPittsburgh Steelers bioLos Angeles Chargers bioWisconsin Badgers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watt, Derek 1992 births Living people American football fullbacks American people of Scottish descent Los Angeles Chargers players People from Pewaukee, Wisconsin Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Wisconsin San Diego Chargers players Sportspeople from the Milwaukee metropolitan area Sportspeople from Waukesha, Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers football players