Bucs rookie defensive lineman Desmond Watson is already a good story. Born and raised in Plant City, he started his football career locally. He then played at Armwood High School in nearby Seffner before going up to Gainesville to play his college career at the University of Florida. And of course, from there, he was signed by the hometown Bucs last month as an undrafted free agent.

“I was having a conversation a couple of days ago, like ‘My life feels like a movie,'” Watson said Saturday. “You couldn’t write a script where a person goes from little league to high school to college not having to move out of the state. One of the coaches was messing with me the other day because I’ve still never seen snow.”

There’s also the other obvious reason why Desmond Watson is one of the more talked-about undrafted free agents in Tampa Bay — and maybe even the league. That’s because he stands at 6-foot-6 and previously weighed in at 464 pounds. He’s reportedly down to 437 pounds now, but he’s still the heaviest player in NFL history.

Bucs DT Desmond Watson – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs’ signing of Watson after the draft made for big headlines, and the buzz around him hasn’t died down. Even Tampa Bay’s “welcome” post to the former Florida Gator on Saturday morning is at 145,200+ views and counting. There’s plenty of attention that comes Watson’s way, and it’s something he’s both aware and appreciative of.

“Of course, I’ve felt the love,” he said. “Why do I think that is? Mainly because it’s mostly unheard of. I feel like people can really gravitate toward me. It’s been like that my whole life, as far as just, I guess, the energy I carry around. I’m not sure what it is that makes them gravitate toward me, but I do appreciate it.”

Saturday was Watson’s first chance to meet with the local Tampa media, and he was all smiles throughout the whole interview session. Why?

“I’m happy. This is a dream come true. I can’t do anything but smile,” he said.

Desmond Watson: “I Want To Be Known As A Football Player”

Bucs DT Desmond Watson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As much attention as he’s gotten for making history as the NFL’s heaviest player, Desmond Watson isn’t intending on settling for that being his story. Rather, he wants more. He wants to change the narrative and just be known as a good football player.

“I feel like my name is etched in history, of course, as being the official heaviest player in the NFL and whatnot. It’s a good story, but at the same time, I don’t want that to be my narrative,” Watson said. “I want to be known as a football player and a good football player at that. But it’s nice to be able to make history — I guess again, because I did it in college too. It’s nice to be able to make history, but all in all, I am a football player and I want to be known as a good one. So it’s just a process that comes with it, I guess.”

It will be a process for Watson, and that process has obviously already begun. He has the benefit of working with new nutritionists now and is still working on devising a plan to get his weight down even further. There’s no set target weight the Bucs have given him just yet, but it’s something he’ll be working toward as he aims to keep writing his story beyond where it is now.

Learning From His Idol Is Just Another Part Of Desmond Watson’s Story

Bucs DT Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As unique as it is for Desmond Watson to go from Plant City local to Florida Gator to Tampa Bay Buccaneer, it’s also unique that his football journey would now lead to him potentially playing alongside Vita Vea, who he looks up to. Vea is massive in his own right, weighing in just shy of 350 pounds as a 6-foot-4 nose tackle. Watson has worked to model his game after Vea’s, and now the two have become teammates in Tampa.

Watson said Saturday that he did get to briefly meet Vea, getting a quick handshake, and that he’ll have plenty of questions for him in the future.

“I’ve been watching him since high school,” Watson said. “Of course, I’m a lot bigger and whatnot. But those are some people I try to model my game after, as far as being a dominant run stopper and things like that. Like I said, it’s like a movie script being put in the position to have somebody you look up to and you try to model your game after as a leader or a vet on your team and position group. I feel like I’m blessed.”