Benjamin Watson (born December 18, 1980 in Norfolk,
Virginia) is an American football tight end for the
New England Patriots of the National Football
League. He was the 32nd pick in the first round of
the 2004 NFL draft from the University of Georgia.
He is best known for excellent speed and athletic
ability for a tight end.
Watson attended Northwestern High School in Rock
Hill, South Carolina and was a letterman in
football. In football, as a senior, he caught 31
passes for 515 yards (16.61 yards per rec. avg), was
an All-Area pick, All-Region selection, an All-State
honoree, selected to play in the Shrine Bowl, and
voted Student of the Year. As a junior, he was an
All-Area pick, an All-region selection, led his team
to the state championship, and voted Student of the
Year. He was also a member of his high school
chapter of The Fellowhip of Christian Athletes.
Played football at Duke University prior to
transferring to the University of Georgia where he
majored in finance.
Watson entered the league rumored to have scored a
41 on his Wonderlic Test, an achievement that
projects to an IQ of 142. He was on the injured list
for almost his entire rookie season for the
Patriots, playing in only one game.
His two biggest plays of the 2005 season came in the
playoffs. In one, during the Patriots' first game
against the Jacksonville Jaguars, on a third-down
play that nearly forced the Patriots to punt, Watson
broke free of one tackle to earn the first down; in
all, Watson broke three tackles and outran five
defenders, taking the ball 63 yards to score the
touchdown.
Even more notable, though, was his hit on Champ
Bailey, another former Georgia Bulldog, during the
Patriots' 2005 AFC Divisional Playoff game against
Denver. Bailey intercepted a Tom Brady pass at the
one-yard line, and ran it to the New England 1.
Watson, running from the opposite corner of the
field, forcefully tackled Bailey, who slowed down
near the endzone. Bailey fumbled the ball (the hit
was so hard that he was left dazed on the ground for
several minutes), but the Broncos retained
possession and scored on the next play.
