Derek, a 6-2, 236-pound fullback who played in 47 career games with the Wisconsin Badgers, netted 11 tackles, 309 receiving yards and 60 rushing yards during a stellar four-year career in the Big 10. But as everyone knows, the pro game is entirely different -- so how is Watt II fitting in?
"He's shown some good versatility whether it's in pass protection, catching the ball or running routes," Chargers head coach Mike McCoy told the team's official site. "The staff has done a good job putting some things together in two-back. We have a system in place that has been here, and no matter who you have doing it, you want flexibility. He has shown he can do all of those things for us."
Watt's selection was not a case of NFL nepotism, though. As the Chargers site noted, the team had not used a fullback in nearly three years. That changed when their running game bottomed out in 2015, draining the stock of 2015 No. 15 overall pick Melvin Gordon.
Connecting the dots should be easy. Watt was Gordon's fullback for the two best seasons Gordon had at Wisconsin -- 4,196 rushing yards and 41 touchdowns -- and he has shown the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. The only surprise was that San Diego didn't take him a round earlier.
"I was waiting to put the pads on," Watt said. "You can look great in shorts and putting your hands on people in the offseason, but the big question mark people wondered was if I could hold up in the run game when the pads came on. It was my goal to show people I was able to do that, come out there and be physical. I feel pretty good with how I've been doing so far, but I know I need to get better."
