Duece Watts

Last updated

Duece Watts
No. 85 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Position: Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1999-12-23) December 23, 1999 (age 24)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:196 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school: Petal
(Petal, Mississippi)
College:
Undrafted: 2023
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Reserve/futures
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com  ·  PFR

Natorian "Duece" Watts (born December 23, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Jones College and Tulane.

Contents

High school career

Watts was born in Chicago, Illinois, but moved to Richton, Mississippi at the age of four. [1] He initially attended Richton High School, where he played football with his twin brother Nataurean “Phat” Watts. [2] After their sophomore year, Watts and his brother transferred to Petal High School where he played with future Tulane teammate Stephon Huderson. [1] [2] [3] Over his high school career, Watts played in 47 games and amassed 55 yards on 9 carries, 2,346 and 28 touchdowns on 119 receptions, 72 total tackles, and 1 interception. [4]

College career

Jones College

Watts was rated as a 2-star recruit leaving high school. [5] After graduating, Watts began his collegiate career at Jones County Junior College. [6] At Jones, he played with Tulane linebacker Nick Anderson. [3] He played for a total of 22 games across the 2018 and 2019 seasons. [7] [8] [9] Throughout his time at Jones he amassed 1 rush for 13 yards, 47 receptions for 702 yards and 5 touchdowns, 7 kick returns for 196 yards, and 1 tackle. [7] [8]

Tulane

Watts committed to play at Tulane for the 2020 season on June 7, 2019. [10] During the 2020 season, Watts made an immediate impact, as he started all 12 games. He led the team in receptions, receiving yards, and average yards per catch. [3] The next season, Watts contributed 331 yards and 3 touchdown on 21 receptions. [3] During his senior season, Watts had 33 receptions for 657 yards and 8 touchdown. [11] Watts then caught 2 passes for 83 yards to help the Green Wave to a Cotton Bowl victory over reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans. [12] [13]

College statistics

SeasonGPReceivingRushingReturningTackles
RecYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTDRetYdsAvgLngTDSoloAstTot
Jones College Bobcats
2018122328612.45930000000000101
2019102441617.355211313130720929.9430000
Tulane Green Wave
2020 123151216.55261222000000000
2021 122133115.84730000000000000
2022 132956419.47371111000000101
NJCAA career 224770214.959511313130720929.9430101
FBS career 3781140717.47316231.53000000101
Career 59128210916.573213165.3130720929.9430202

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 1+14 in
(1.86 m)
196 lb
(89 kg)
32+14 in
(0.82 m)
10+18 in
(0.26 m)
4.59 s1.47 s2.65 s4.41 s7.27 s37.5 in
(0.95 m)
10 ft 5 in
(3.18 m)
17 reps
All values from Pro Day [14]

Green Bay Packers

After going undrafted at the 2023 NFL Draft, Watts was signed by the Green Bay Packers on May 1, 2023. [15] [16] [17] He was waived on August 29, 2023. [18]

Pittsburgh Steelers

Watts was signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad on September 20, 2023. [19] On January 17, 2024, he signed a reserve/futures contract with the Steelers. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl XLV</span> 2011 National Football League championship game

Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2010 season. The Packers defeated the Steelers 31–25. The game was played on February 6, 2011, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the first time the Super Bowl was played in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Jones (wide receiver)</span> American football player (born 1984)

James DeAndre Jones is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the San Jose State Spartans and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. With the Packers, he helped them win Super Bowl XLV over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was also a member of the Oakland Raiders. He is an NFL Network analyst.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Jackson (American football)</span> American football player (born 1985)

Brandon Lamar Jackson is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He later won Super Bowl XLV with the Packers against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at Nebraska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordy Nelson</span> American football player (born 1985)

Jordy Ray Nelson is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and the Oakland Raiders. He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats, receiving consensus All-American honors in 2007. He was selected by Green Bay in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. During his tenure with the Packers, he won Super Bowl XLV with the team over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2010 season. After spending 10 seasons in Green Bay, he played one year with the Raiders before announcing his retirement. In 2023, he was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame.

Erik Konrad Affholter is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). As a 16-year-old place kicker during his junior season of high school he broke a national record with a 64-yard field goal, which at the time was the longest field goal kicked at any level. Playing college football for the USC Trojans, he was an All-American and established school records for most receptions in a season, and in a career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randall Cobb (American football)</span> American football player (born 1990)

Randall Ladonald Cobb II is an American football wide receiver for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kentucky Wildcats, earning All-American honors in 2010. Cobb was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He also played one season each for the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davante Adams</span> American football player (born 1992)

Davante Lavell Adams is an American football wide receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Born in East Palo Alto, California, Adams attended Palo Alto High School where he played football and basketball. He played two seasons of college football for the Fresno State Bulldogs and was named a second-team All-American in 2013 before being selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JuJu Smith-Schuster</span> American football player (born 1996)

John Sherman"JuJu" Smith-Schuster is an American football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans, earning second-team All-American honors in 2015. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. During the 2022 season, Smith-Schuster won Super Bowl LVII during his only season with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Alizé Mack is an American football tight end for the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Notre Dame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Jones II</span> American football player (born 1987)

Ronald Jones II is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at USC, where he finished his college career with over 3,600 rushing yards over three seasons before being selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Miller (wide receiver, born 1994)</span> American football player (born 1994)

Anthony Miller is an American football wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Memphis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jace Sternberger</span> American football player (born 1996)

Jace Evan Sternberger is an American football tight end for the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, Kansas, and Texas A&M, where he was named a consensus All-American in 2018 with the latter. Sternberger was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks, Washington Football Team, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Buffalo Bills.

Kerrith Whyte Jr. is an American football running back for the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football at Florida Atlantic, and was selected by the Chicago Bears in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Green Bay Packers

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler Vaughns</span> American football player (born 1997)

Tyler Vaughns is an American football wide receiver for the Arlington Renegades of the XFL. He played college football at USC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler Johnson (American football)</span> American football player (born 1998)

Tyler Johnson is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota, and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He also briefly played for the Houston Texans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denzel Mims</span> American football player (born 1997)

Denzel Mims is an American football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Baylor. He was selected by the New York Jets in the second-round of the 2020 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Leglue</span> American football player (born 1996)

John Wagner Leglue is an American football guard and offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tulane.

Romeo Izziyh Doubs is an American football wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Nevada and was selected by the Packers in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

The 2023 Cotton Bowl Classic was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 2023, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The 87th annual Cotton Bowl Classic, the game featured two teams selected at-large by the College Football Playoff selection committee — Tulane from the American Athletic Conference and USC from the Pac-12 Conference. The game began at 12:00 p.m. CST and was aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, the game was officially known as the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

Nataurean "Phat" Watts is an American football wide receiver for the Tulane Green Wave who had played college football at Jones College.

References

  1. 1 2 Kemp, Jacob. "Brothers & teammates: Watts twins find success at Petal". Hattiesburg American. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Petro, Camal (September 12, 2017). "Watts Finds Home at Running Back". The Pine Belt News. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Duece Watts – Football". Tulane University Athletics. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  4. "Natorian Watts' (Richton, MS) High School Football Stats". maxpreps.com. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  5. "Natorian Watts, Petal , Wide Receiver". 247Sports. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  6. Curet, Taylor (August 16, 2019). "The Watts brothers – a dynamic duo for Jones College" . Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Duece Watts Stats". The Football Database. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Natorian Watts – 2019 – Football". Jones College Athletics. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  9. "Three former Bobcats will get their shot in National Football League". Jones College Athletics. April 29, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  10. "Natorian Watts – Football Recruiting – Player Profiles – ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  11. "Duece Watts Stats, News, Bio". ESPN. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  12. Edmonds, Charlotte (January 2, 2023). "Tulane Stuns USC With Dramatic Comeback Win in Cotton Bowl". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  13. "Tulane Rolls to Epic Win Over USC in 87th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic". Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  14. "Duece Watts – WR – Tulane – 2023 Draft Scout/NCAA College Football". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  15. "Packers agree to terms with 12 rookie free agents". packers.com. May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  16. Boynton, Eric (May 1, 2023). "Packers sign 12 undrafted free agents". WBAY. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  17. "Matt LaFleur says Packers could add veteran, but is comfortable letting young WR corps compete for now". NFL.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  18. "Packers announce roster moves". Packers.com. August 29, 2023.
  19. Varley, Teresa (September 20, 2023). "Steelers make additional roster moves". Steelers.com.
  20. Varley, Teresa (January 17, 2024). "Steelers sign 17 to Reserve/Future contracts". Steelers.com. Retrieved January 17, 2024.