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

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

fullback 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 Stee ...

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 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 High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...

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 Melvin Gordon III (born April 13, 1993) is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin, and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first round ...

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 Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division I, NCAA Division-I football i ...

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 San Diego Chargers 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 Alex Michael Erickson (born November 6, 1992) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin and was signed by the Cincin ...

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 Chase Claypool (born July 7, 1998) is a Canadian professional American football wide receiver for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in th ...

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