Benjamin Watson has been fortunate to play many seasons of his long NFL career with two of the best quarterbacks in league history.
The veteran tight end was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2004 and caught passes from Tom Brady for the first six seasons of his career before leaving Foxboro in 2009. Watson also played with Drew Brees on the New Orleans Saints in four of the last five seasons.
There are several obvious benefits to playing with Hall of Fame-caliber quarterbacks, but Watson took it a step further Thursday by describing the little things both Brady and Brees do that help their respective teams thrive.
"I would say I just grew tremendously. It's amazing how much you can grow as a player when you have the right coach, the right system, the right offensive coordinator, but also the right quarterback," Watson told reporters after Day 1 of training camp at Gillette Stadium. "Certain quarterbacks – really there is a certain gene in a lot of quarterbacks that makes them compete and makes them want to perfect their craft with other players. With Tom and with Drew, if it's staying after practice and running extra routes, if they're on a pitch count and they say 'Bump the pitch count, I've got to get this right with my guys,' they'll do that.
"It's in the meeting rooms, when you're running a route in a meeting room and we're watching it on film, and they'd like you to break it a little bit earlier. Even if in the textbook it says to break it at five yards, and they say, "You know what, I need you to break it here and I'll be ready to throw you the ball." It's them vocalizing that. As a player receiving that, it helps you to grow as a player, and in your relationship with them. That's what those guys do and it benefits them because they've been in the same offense for a long time -- so they kind of have their own spin on it -- but they also know how to communicate and coach the players that they're going to be playing with from year to year, because that always changes."
Watson briefly retired before deciding to return to the Patriots in May. And who could blame him? The opportunity to play with a quarterback like Brady and have a great chance to compete for a Super Bowl championship is an opportunity few 38-year-old veterans should pass up.
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He's suspended for the first four games of the season as a result of a failed drug test, but we should still expect Watson to play a meaningful role in the Patriots offense in 2019. Watson caught 35 passes for 400 yards and two touchdowns for the Saints last season, and he'll be relied on to help fill the void left by the retired Rob Gronkowski on the Patriots' tight end depth chart.
Updated Patriots tight end depth chart after Kendricks signing>>>
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