Gabe Watson DT Michigan
Strengths
Well, he’s big! No doubt about it. He’s athletic! No doubt about that. He can tackle, he could dominate and he could be the best run- stuffing DT in this draft -- IF he wanted to be.
Needs to Improve
He is extremely overweight. For a kid his size, he’s not very strong at all and he has no stamina. He doesn’t have good quickness off the line; therefore, with the exception of his ability to collapse the pocket, he is not very good as a pass rusher. He lacks quickness and strength in his lateral movement, so he cannot cover his gaps quickly enough to be a force in the run game. If he loses weight and gets into shape, all of this could change for the better -- drastically.
Bottom Line
I call him Gabe "the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man" Watson. This kid could have been one of the top DT’s in this draft, but he isn’t because of his weight. Now we all know what will happen if his team gets into a bowl game. Gabe will most likely play a great game and the scouts and pro coaches will all start to drool. The biggest problem right now is that he doesn’t play every down; he lacks stamina and he is not very strong. There is no doubt that this kid has tremendous potential to be one of the best DT’s at the next level, but his lack of work ethic and training discipline is what’s stopping him now. Right now, I see college centers moving him around one on one all game long. He has excellent athletic talent, but no heart.
- Drew Boylhart (thehuddlereport.com)