What weighs nearly a quarter of a ton and can run 40 yards in less than six seconds?
A man with a dream named Desmond Watson.
Watson was a defensive tackle with the Florida Gators who is hoping to be selected in this month’s NFL draft.
At 6-foot-6 and 464 pounds, he would be the heaviest player in NFL history if he makes his dream come true, according to the Associated Press.
So far, as if his size was not enough, Watson made the scouts take notice after repping 225 pounds 36 times, best at this year’s NFL combine.
Watson thundered through the 40-yard dash in less than six seconds and hit a mark of 25 inches in the vertical jump.
Desmond Watson is putting on a show at Florida’s Pro Day 👀
🐊 6’6 464 pounds
🐊 5.86 in the 40
🐊 36 reps on the bench
🐊 25″ vertical pic.twitter.com/AeENjJATQU— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) March 27, 2025
All the while, his teammates and coaches sought to sell NFL teams on taking a chance on Watson.
Would you like to see an NFL team pick up Watson?
“He moves way better than anybody thought he would at his size,” Florida defensive tackle Joey Slackman said. “I don’t see why a team wouldn’t give him a chance. He’s a football player through and through; I would want that guy on my team.”
“Dez, obviously, he’s a unicorn,” Florida coach Billy Napier said.
“You’ll go the rest of your career and you’ll never be around a guy that’s that stature. And then you get to know Dez. He’s extremely intelligent. He’s got a great sense of humor. He was a great teammate,” he said.
“Obviously showed up in good shape today, so he’ll get his shot, and I’m hoping he’ll make the most of it,” he said.
Watson came out of high school at an estimated 385 pounds and has increased his weight every year. He was listed at 449 pounds last fall.
“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. “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.”
“Dez is a really, talented, athletic guy,” Florida defensive back Trikweze Bridges said. “We all know that. We all see it.”
The heaviest NFL players ever drafted were two 380-pounders: offensive linemen Trent Brown, picked in 2015, and Daniel Faalele, picked in 2022.
“Dez came out here and really shocked a lot of the scouts, especially when he ran his 40,” defensive tackle Cam Jackson said. “I feel like he shocked a lot of people. A lot of big guys can’t move the way Dez can move.”
👀🐊 Desmond Watson carry and first-down run! #Gators pic.twitter.com/EPm5xUzSpn
— OnlyGators.com: Florida Gators news (@onlygators) December 20, 2024
“He’s working to get the weight down. I feel like a team is going to take a shot on him. If I was them, I would. You don’t find too many nose tackles moving like him. Dez is a big, disruptive guy, and he puts in the work,” Jackson said.
A report in The Sun pegged Watson as a “Day 3 pick.”
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