To understand how dominant Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has been this season, take a look at who the Jets have used to imitate him in practice this week.
Normally, scout teams are made up of practice squad players, undrafted free agents and low-round draft picks. Playing the role of Watt this week for the Jets have been: Aaron Maybin (No. 11 overall pick in 2009), Muhammad Wilkerson (No. 30 overall pick in 2011) and Quinton Coples (No. 16 overall pick in 2012).
“I would definitely say we had the most first-rounders on scout team of any team … ever,” said linebacker Nick Bellore, a member of the scout team.
It is easy to see why the Jets used as much talent as they could find this week to simulate what Watt can do. The 6-foot-5, 295-pounder has 7 1⁄2 sacks this season, the most in the NFL. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month for September. He leads the Texans’ top-ranked defense in tackles for loss (10), fumble recoveries (2), is tied for the team lead in passes defended (5) and ranks second on the team in tackles (20).
People wondered how the Texans defense would fare without Mario Williams, who left as a free agent last winter. Watt has people in Houston saying, “Mario who?”
“Well, the first thing, you love the fanatical effort,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “The guy plays with his hair on fire and that’s something you notice. But the size, strength, athleticism — it’s rare to find a guy with that kind of combination. … Certainly, he makes a huge difference and an impact. Really, it’s a guy, as a defensive coach all my life, it’s one of those rare guys that comes along once in a long time and he’s doing a tremendous job.”
Bellore has known Watt since 2007 when both were freshmen at Central Michigan. Watt was a tight end, who caught just eight passes as a freshman.
“It’s crazy,” Bellore said of Watt’s impact as a defensive end now. “I think it’s obviously a better position for him judging by where he’s at now. He was good. He was one of a few of us that played right away as a true freshman. I think he found his fit, though.”
Frustrated by his role at Central Michigan, Watt quit and went back home to Wisconsin. He was taking classes at a community college and delivering pizzas when he realized he needed to chase his NFL dream. One day a young boy answered the door on one of Watt’s pizza deliveries. The boy recognized Watt as a local high school football star and asked Watt why he was delivering pizza.
Watt walked back to his car, began to cry and then realized he needed to get back on the football field.
Watt enrolled at Wisconsin, redshirted a year then became a force for the Badgers.
The Texans took Watt with the 11th pick in the 2011 Draft and he has become a star in the NFL. He presents a different challenge than most pass rushers because he lines up on the interior most of the time. Guards Matt Slauson and Brandon Moore will see a lot of him tomorrow night. It is much harder to provide linemen help on the inside than the outside, where you can do it with tight ends and running backs.
“He’s down there in the trenches slugging it out with you,” Jets offensive coordinator Tony Sparano said. “He came out and he was as advertised then. He’s playing at a really high level right now. The number of balls he tips, the numbers of tackles for losses, the amount of sacks, you can’t argue that he’s not playing the best out of anybody in the league right now on defense.”
TE Dustin Keller (hamstring), WR Stephen Hill (hamstring), NT Sione Po’uha (back) and FB John Conner (hamstring) all missed practice yesterday and are listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s game. OLB Bryan Thomas (hamstring), S Eric Smith (hip/knee), CB Aaron Berry (ribs), LB Bart Scott (toe) and RB Joe McKnight (illness) are all questionable. For the Texans, RB Ben Tate (toe) is questionable.
brian.costello@nypost.com