10 Best NFL Careers in Wisconsin football history
Wisconsin career. . Round 1, Pick 11. J.J. Watt. J.J. Watt. player. . 2011 NFL Draft. 3. 10
J.J. Watt was the first Watt brother to make it to the NFL. After a stellar career at Wisconsin, Watt was drafted in the first round by the Houston Texans.
Watt became a starter as a left defensive end for the Texans and had a solid rookie season. He had 5.5 sacks in his rookie season along with 56 total tackles and 19 quarterback hits. Watt's second season was what impressed everyone and showed Watt was going to be a problem for every defense in the league.
In his second season, Watt led the league with 20.5 sacks and 39 tackles for the loss. Watt was voted to the Pro Bowl, was an All-Pro First Team selection, and won Defensive Player of the Year in just his second season. He followed up his amazing second season with a solid third season, but in his fourth and fifth seasons, Watt won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards and became the second player to ever win the award three times.
After dealing with injuries in 2016 and 2017, Watt came back in 2018 to become an All-Pro First Team selection and Pro-Bowler for the fifth time in his career. After the 2020 season, Watt decided to take his talents out to Arizona with the Cardinals where he dealt with injury again his first season there. In his final season in 2022, Watt put up good numbers, but not like his early years in Houston. He decided to call it a career after 2022 and will go down as one of the best defensive linemen in NFL history.