Menelik Watson
refer to caption
Watson with the Oakland Raiders
No. 71, 75
Position:Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1988-12-22) 22 December 1988
Manchester, England
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:315 lb (143 kg)
Career information
High school:Burnage
(Burnage, England)
College:Florida State
NFL Draft:2013 / Round: 2 / Pick: 42
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Games played:34
Games started:24
Player stats at NFL.com

Menelik Watson (born 22 December 1988) is an English former professional American football offensive tackle. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State.

Early life

Watson was born into a single-parent family of four brothers and a sister raised on the Anson Estate in Longsight, Greater Manchester, England; his mother, originally from Jamaica, worked as an office cleaner to support the family.[1]

At Burnage High School, he excelled at sport. However, he broke his right ankle in 2001 while playing football in the park, meaning that he could not progress in his hopes of playing for Manchester City. Advised by a doctor not to play any more sports, he eventually joined the school basketball team, where he was spotted in a local tournament by American coach Rob Orellana, who signed him up for the Canarias Basketball Academy based in the Canary Islands.[1]

College career

Watson played college basketball for Marist College, which he attended from 2009 to 2010.[2]

However, after it became clear that even at 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) Watson was too short to play power forward,[1] Orellana transferred Watson to Saddleback College where he played American football for the first time.[1] Watson played right tackle, opposite of left tackle Kyle Long.[3] After a single year at Saddleback, he transferred to Florida State University,[4] where he started 12 of 13 games for the Florida State Seminoles football team during the 2012 season, allowing just one quarterback sack.[5]

After his 2012 season, Watson announced his decision to forego his senior season and enter the NFL Draft.[6]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jump
6 ft 5 in
(1.96 m)		 310 lb
(141 kg)		 34 in
(0.86 m)		 10+3⁄8 in
(0.26 m)		5.29 s5.01 s8.31 s24.5 in
(0.62 m)		8 ft 7 in
(2.62 m)
All values from NFL combine.[7]

Oakland Raiders

Watson was drafted in the second round by the Oakland Raiders of the 2013 NFL Draft (42nd overall).[8]

Watson dressed for five games while starting for three of them in his rookie year.

On 28 September 2014, Watson was named Raiders' honorary captain for the International Series game against the Miami Dolphins, leading the Raiders out at Wembley Stadium.[9]

In December 2014, Watson donated his game check to a four-year-old Oakland Raiders fan with Hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which is estimated to be around $18,000.[10]

On 30 August 2015, Watson suffered a torn Achilles tendon during the third preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals.[11] On 1 September 2015, the Raiders placed Watson on injured reserve.[12]

Denver Broncos

On 10 March 2017, Watson signed a three-year contract with the Denver Broncos.[13] He started the first seven games at right tackle before suffering a calf injury and was placed on injured reserve on 8 November 2017.[14]

On 20 August 2018, Watson was placed on injured reserve with a pectoral injury.[15] He was released on 8 September 2018.

Personal life

Watson has a daughter Orellana—named in honour of his mentor Rob—who lives in Manchester with her mother.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ian Shoesmith (25 April 2013). "Menelik Watson swaps inner-city life for the big time". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  2. ↑ Tally-ho, Watson
  3. ↑ "2013 NFL Draft prospect Menelik Watson bringing British Invasion to NFL - NFL - Dennis Dillon - SI.com". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013.
  4. ↑ Former hoopster, boxer Menelik Watson a hidden gem for Florida St.
  5. ↑ Menelik Watson Bio – Florida State University Archived 26 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Menelik Watson's unlikely journey continues
  7. ↑ "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles – Menelik Watson". NFL.com. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "2013 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  9. ↑ "NFL result, Oakland Raiders 14 Miami Dolphins 38: UK-born Menelik Watson's emotional return spoiled by Miami in London". The Telegraph. 29 September 2014.
  10. ↑ Florio, Mike (21 December 2014). "Menelik Watson donates game check to four-year-old fan". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  11. ↑ Bergman, Jeremy (30 August 2015). "Raiders' Menelik Watson ruptures Achilles tendon". National Football League. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  12. ↑ Durkin, Jimmy (1 September 2015). "Raiders place Watson on injured reserve". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  13. ↑ Swanson, Ben (10 March 2017). "Tackle Menelik Watson agrees to terms with Broncos on three-year contract". DenverBroncos.com.
  14. ↑ Mason, Andrew (8 November 2017). "Broncos place Menelik Watson on injured reserve, sign T Cyrus Kouandjio". DenverBroncos.com.
  15. ↑ "Broncos designate Menelik Watson as reserve/injured". DenverBroncos.com. 20 August 2018.
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