When Florida's Desmond Watson took part in his Pro Day, the headline from that day was the 39 reps on bench press that he put up. That mark would have come in first had he been at the NFL Combine. Watson didn't get drafted, but he is an UDFA with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and, on paper, has a decent shot of making the 53-man roster.
We also noted back when he had his Pro Day that his 25" vertical leap was actually pretty good for someone north of 430 pounds. And now, compared to an NBA Draft hopeful Gator fans are very familiar with, Watson looks like an elite athlete.
Desmond Watson has a better vertical leap than Johni Broome
The NBA Combine is underway, and while it doesn't tend to get the fanfare of the NFL Combine, the vertical leap is always a fun metric to look at.
Auburn big man Johni Broome, who Gator fans became well acquainted with during the 2024/25 season, took part in the event and registered a leap of 24.5."
If you are doing the math at home, that means Watson, who was north of 460 pounds on his Pro Day, has a better vertical leap than the 240 Broome.
Desmond Watson is 6'6" and weighs 464 pounds.
He logged a higher vertical leap than Johni Broome 😅 pic.twitter.com/ELxZiQfMAJ
— Underdog (@Underdog) May 14, 2025
And if you are also keeping score at home, Broome is attempting to get drafted in the NBA, a sport where jumping is mandatory, while Watson won't be doing much jumping at defensive tackle in the NFL.
What's somewhat humorous is that both Watson and Broome are from Plant City, though they didn't attend high school together.
To be fair to Broome, Denver Nugget big man Nikola Jokic registered a 17" vertical jump when he went through the Combine, but most fans and scouts would tell you that Broome doesn't have a bag of tricks in his arsenal like Jokic has.
It's ultimately a reminder that Watson is a much better athlete than he gets credit for and that Broome might have been a tad overrated during his time with Auburn.