NBC Sports is reportedly targeting JJ Watt to join its analyst team as it gets set to begin coverage of the Big Ten Conference this season. If the network gets its way, Watt would join Maria Taylor and former Ohio State linebacker Joshua Perry on the college football pregame show and potentially have a role with Sunday Night Football broadcasts on the network as well.
On Friday morning in Houston, Texas, SportsRadio 610’s Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast reacted to the news of the longtime Texans star defensive end potentially considering a broadcasting career and the implications it would have for the network.
“That’s a sly move,” Payne said. “Compared to NFL studio shows and whatnot, [NBC is] kind of a pipsqueak network going after JJ Watt, but it does make sense. I think that JJ, with his young son, probably more on the way, based in Wisconsin, could go to these games without making a big ordeal out of it. It might be a nice little transition into broadcasting for him.”
The discussion on the radio program Friday morning centered around Watt joining coverage of Sunday Night Football though, leading Payne to ponder over which current analyst he would replace – that is, if he was not merely added alongside Chris Simms, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison.
“Of those three, Simms has turned himself into an actual broadcaster,” Payne said. “I think he’s gotten pretty smooth, but they would boot him out the door in a heartbeat for JJ Watt.”
Payne added that Tony Dungy could also face a potential exit if Watt ends up signing with the network.
“Dungy does nothing for me – and this has nothing to do with anything either politically, socially or anything at all – he’s just never done anything for me at all as a broadcaster,” Payne said. “He’s low energy. He looks sickly 24/7, and I don’t enjoy watching him or hearing him, so if JJ replaces Tony Dungy, it’d feel like the Texans finally beat the Colts…. They finally beat Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning, yeah.”
Pendergast replied that he is intrigued to see what Watt could bring to the broadcast in a studio setting and just how opinionated he would be.
“When he’s giving some of his football opinions as I’ve heard him just go on various shows, you can tell he’s put some thought into them,” Payne told Pendergast. “He’s not saying anything too divisive or anything; he’s not picking winners or losers in a game…. He would provide constructive criticism. I think he could handle it, [and] I think he’d be pretty good at it.”
