The scale stared back.
Watson, a defensive lineman out of Florida who on Saturday could become the heaviest player ever to be picked in the NFL draft, saw the digital numbers flash before settling: 437.2 pounds.
EJ Gonzalez, Watson’s agent, documented the weigh-in with two “live’’ photos. He said he sent them to 25 NFL teams and planned to do so for the remaining seven teams.
‘New meal plan, sleep advice, trying to get him to change his habits,’ Gonzalez said of Watson, who’s from Plant City, Florida.
The current unofficial record for a heavyweight draft pick is 400 pounds. But Watson, 22, has lost about 26 pounds since Florida’s pro day on March 27, when he reportedly impressed NFL personnel with a performance that included: bench pressing 225 pounds an astounding 36 times; running the 40-yard dash in 5.86 seconds, about the same time clocked by eventual Pro Bowler Orlando Brown at the 2018 NFL combine; and displaying exceptional athleticism.
Then, he was carrying 464 pounds on his 6-foot-5 frame, before embarking on his current effort to lose weight.
“There (are) times where I do basically starving and stuff like that,’ Watson told USA TODAY Sports. “And I would drop weight, of course, but I didn’t feel confident that way. I didn’t feel strong, I didn’t feel fast. I feel like right now is the best I felt with the process of losing weight.’
He’s got more to go.
Gonzalez said all NFL teams want Watson to weigh under 410 pounds and some want him considerably lighter.
In 51 games, he had 63 tackles, including four tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. He also forced a fumble, recovered it and returned it eight yards before fumbling it back. And in crowd-pleasing moment, he carried the ball once, gaining a yard and conjuring up images of William (The Refrigerator) Perry.
With feedback from NFL teams, Watson said, he knows he must take weight loss seriously. Recently, he started working with Danny Martoe, a former NFL agent who now works as a “deep health” performance coach.
“I had to give up basically sugar, all sugars, starches and everything like that,’ Watson told USA TODAY Sports. “Now I eat a lot of peas, a lot of beans are basically my big intake. I eat a lot of chili or spinach and soups and things like that.’
Watson also sends photos of his meals to a WhatsApp group chat that includes his mother, girlfriend and agent.
‘I feel like it’s taking my accountability up to a whole ‘nother level,’ he said.
Lifestyle changes will be key
After working with Watson for about a month, the deep health performance coach made a startling proclamation. ‘There’s no reason that he is not capable of shedding 100 pounds,’ Martoe told USA TODAY Sports. ‘I want to be careful, but before the year is out.’
Asked if he thinks it’s possible to lose 100 pounds, Watson said, ‘I do. Obviously I have it to lose, but it’s possible.’’
Martoe said the weight loss wouldn’t involve GLP-1 medications like Ozempic.
‘Here’s the thing with GLP, whether you do it or not, you still have to make therapeutic lifestyle changes,’ he said.
A premium is put on low-glycemic foods, which help regulate the rise in blood sugar, according to Martoe.
‘I don’t have him weigh in every day,’ Martoe said. ‘While the weight is definitely a focus, it’s more of the lifestyle. Because when you become over-obsessed with a specific goal or an outcome such as a weight, then once you get it, it’s like. … I’ve got here and now I can go back.’
Some of Martoe’s tips: Put utensils down between bites; slow down; stop when you’re 80% full.
“I’m doing pretty good now,’’ Watson said, adding he’s focused on improving his health for more than football. ‘When I’m older, I don’t want to be bedridden the whole time. I feel like that’s a miserable life. I think before it gets to that or even close to it, I take care of myself right now.’
In 2017, tragedy struck his family when Watson’s younger brother Dyson, then 5, had a stroke, said Watson’s mother, Deonzia Woullard.
‘Instead of running up and down the field scoring touchdowns, tackling, he’s left now in a wheelchair,’ Woullard said. ‘He eats through a G-tube, he’s nonverbal.’
Watson, then a freshman in high school, felt the impact, Woullard said. ‘Mentally, it just was a big strain,’ she said. ‘Things just changed, and I don’t think he coped with it well, either.”
‘I’m so impressed with him and how he’s just taken over himself,’ she added. ‘And it’s still work to be done, but he’s doing a great job. And I can’t wait to see where his ending result is going to be.’