Connect with us

Football

Watts’ big season capped with sixth-round selection by Vikings

Arkansas defensive lineman Armon Watts became the third Razorback selected in the 2019 NFL Draft after being taken by Minnesota in the sixth round with the 190th overall pick.

Published

on

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas defensive lineman Armon Watts became the third Razorback selected in the 2019 NFL Draft after being taken by Minnesota in the sixth round with the 190th overall pick on Saturday.

Watts joins Hjalte Froholdt (New England, 4th round) and Dre Greenlaw (San Francisco, 5th round) as Razorbacks picked in this year’s NFL Draft, making it the eighth time in nine years Arkansas has had three or more players drafted.

The trio continues Arkansas’ streak of 24 years with at least one Razorback picked in the NFL Draft, which ranks fourth in the SEC.

From St. Louis, Missouri, Watts put together a strong senior campaign after recording just seven tackles over his previous three years wearing an Arkansas uniform.

In his final year, Watts played in all 12 games, starting each of the last 11 to total 621 snaps played, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), entering the season with just 114 snaps combined from 2015-17.

He was recognized three times by PFF, making the National Team of the Week after the second game of the year, while also bringing home Midseason All-SEC Team honors and SEC Team of the Week accolades for his play in week nine.

He ranked fifth on the team in total tackles, first among defensive lineman, with 49, which included 25 solo stops, 8.5 tackles for loss and a team-high 7.0 sacks.

Watts forced a team-best three fumbles, doing so in each of the first two games of the year against Eastern Illinois and Colorado State, both resulting in turnovers.

He put together two separate streaks of three-straight games with at least one sack and wrapped the year with a season-high seven tackles, six solo, on the road at Missouri.

Watts finished the year with the team’s highest overall defensive grade from PFF at 85.6, posting eight games with marks over 70.0.

He racked up a season-best 92.3 at Colorado State, with a 90.4 pressure grade and an 84.0 mark in run defense to land on the National Team of the Week.

Watts earned the Crip Hall Homecoming Performance by a Senior Award from the media after Arkansas’ win over Tulsa on Oct. 20.

After the season, he was honored with the Dan Hampton Award (defensive lineman of the year) and the Paul Eells Award (perseverance through adversity) by the Little Rock Touchdown Club at the group’s end of year awards banquet.

Advertisement

2024 Razorbacks Football

Thu, Aug 29vs UAPB (Little Rock)W, 70-0
Sat, Sep 7@ Oklahoma StateL, 31-39 2OT
Sat, Sep 14vs UABW, 37-27
Sat, Sep 21@ AuburnW, 24-14
Sat, Sep 28vs Texas A&M (Arl)L, 21-17
Sat, Oct 5vs TennesseeW, 19-14
Sat, Oct 19vs LSUL, 34-10
Sat, Oct 26@ Mississippi StateW, 58-25
Sat, Nov 2vs Ole Miss11:00 AM
ESPN
Sat, Nov 16vs Texas11:00 AM
Sat, Nov 23vs Louisiana TechTBD
ESPN+/SECN+
Sat, Nov 30@ MissouriTBD
Advertisement

Advertisement

2024 High School Rankings

Following is the Arkansas Sports Media High School Football Poll including the Overall Top 10, the top five in Classes 7A, 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A, plus the top three in the 8-man division, as voted by a panel of sports media from around the state for the week ending August 24. Ranking is given with first-place votes received, records, total points and ranking from last week's poll:
OVERALLRecordPtsPrv
1.Bryant (18)8-02521
2.Conway (6)8-02302
3.Greenwood (2)8-02103
4.Little Rock Parkview7-11714
5.Bentonville5-31416
6.Benton7-11265
7.Fayetteville6-21008
8.Pulaski Academy6-2757
9.Rogers5-3459
10.Shiloh Christian6-24010
Others receiving votes: Marion 13, Valley View 9, Joe T Robinson 8, Mountain Home 4, Cabot 3, Elkins 3.
CLASS 7A
1.Bryant (20)8-01241
2.Conway (6)8-01052
3.Bentonville5-3753
4.Fayetteville6-2455
5.Pulaski Academy6-2354
Others receiving votes: Rogers 5.
CLASS 6A
1.Greenwood (26)8-01301
2.Benton7-11022
3.Shiloh Christian6-2713
4.Marion7-1524
5.Mountain Home7-131
Others receiving votes: Little Rock Catholic 4.
CLASS 5A
1.Little Rock Parkview (23)7-11271
2.Joe T Robinson7-1902
3.Valley View (3)8-0803
4.Hot Springs Lakeside7-1484
5.Farmington7-130
Others receiving votes: Camden Fairview 4, Maumelle 4, Morrilton 3, Greenbrier 2, Harding Academy 1.
CLASS 4A
1.Elkins (19)8-01161
2.Arkadelphia (5)6-2792
3.Little Rock Mills (1)8-0703
4.Warren6-2404
5.Malvern (1)8-0315
Others receiving votes: Dardanelle 22, Southside Batesville 11, Mena 8, Bauxite 7, DeWitt 4, Highland 2.
CLASS 3A
4.Bismarck (15)8-01054
5.Fordyce (4)8-0765
Prescott (3)7-1531t
1.Osceola (2)6-149
3.Mayflower (1)8-036
Others receiving votes: Booneville (1) 31, Rivercrest 19, Mansfield 14, Charleston 4, Rison 3.
CLASS 2A
1.Carlisle (21)8-01211
2.Conway Christian (4)8-01042
3.Des Arc7-1663
4.Bigelow (1)6-2455
5.Murfreesboro6-230
Others receiving votes: Marked Tree 10, Mineral Springs 6, Junction City 5, Cross County 1, Mount Ida 1, Poyen 1
8-MAN SANCTIONED
1.Strong-Huttig (25)5-0761
2.Midland (1)7-0502
3.Cedar Ridge7-1253
Others receiving votes: Rector 5.

© COPYRIGHT 2017-24 BY PEARSON BROADCASTING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ESPN ARKANSAS 99.5 IN FAYETTEVILLE, 95.3 IN THE RIVER VALLEY, 96.3 IN HOT SPRINGS, 104.3 IN HARRISON-MOUNTAIN HOME.