Advanced
Computed from every play, garbage time excluded. FBS rank among players with enough volume
| Defense | Value | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Havoc plays | 8 | 129th / 2758 |
| Tackles for loss | 1 | 1269th / 2112 |
| Run stops | 5 | 1669th / 3422 |
| Sacks | 0 | — |
| Pass breakups | 7 | — |
| Interceptions | 0 | — |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | — |
| Tackles | 21 | — |
Charting
Where Watson's plays went: throw and catch spots, air yards and yards after the catch, read from the play-by-play
The play-by-play names the defender on breakups, interceptions and tackles, but not the man in coverage on every throw, so true times-targeted isn't in the text. Coverage plays is the closest stand-in; exact targets come from hand charting.
Career
3 seasons since 2014 · box-score totals, snap share estimated from play-by-play
| Season | Team | G | Snaps | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD | Havoc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 so far |  Iowa#16 · 6-2 | 8 | 75% | 24 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| 2025 | Iowa#14 · 9-4 | 6 | 27% | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024 | Iowa#21 · 8-5 | 4 | 1% | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Past seasons are summed from ESPN box scores; success rates and snap shares come from the play-by-play. Jaylen Watson's team rank is that season's final TDC rank. A dash means the stat wasn't recorded.
Game Log
Jaylen Watson's box score, game by game, from ESPN, with a 0–10 game score for each (hover it for how it works). Click a result for the full game
| Defense | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk | Opponent | Result | Game score | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Hur | PD | INT | TD |
| 1 |  Northern Illinois | W 40–0 | — | no stats recorded | |||||||
| 2 |  Iowa State | W 16–13 | 6.5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 3 |  Northern Iowa | W 55–0 | 4.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 4 | @ Michigan | W 20–19 | 7.7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | · | · |
| 5 |  Ohio State | L 14–31 | 7.8 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | · | · |
| 6 | @ Washington | W 41–24 | 5.9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 8 | @ Minnesota | L 10–13 | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | · | · |
| 9 |  Wisconsin | W 30–0 | 5.4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 2026 · 7 games | 6.2 | 24 | 17 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 7 | · | · | ||
2026 Season Stats
FBS rank among qualifying players
| Defense | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 24 | 1024th / 5664 |
| Solo | 17 | — |
| Tackles for loss | 0.5 | 2222nd / 2634 |
| Sacks | 0 | — |
| QB hurries | 1 | 780th / 1549 |
| Passes defended | 7 | 20th / 1772 |
| Defensive TD | 0 | — |
Snaps by Game
Estimated snaps from a model trained on real NFL snap counts. Ranges in brackets are where the real number lands 80% of the time: wide for a single game, tighter over the season. How it works
| Game | Start | Opp. plays | Est. snaps | Plays made | Penalties | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 · Northern Illinois | ✓ DB | 78 | · | · | · | — |
| Wk 2 · Iowa State | ✓ DB | 53 | ~53 (21–53) | 6 | · | 100% |
| Wk 3 · Northern Iowa | ✓ DB | 57 | ~4 (0–12) | 1 | · | 7% |
| Wk 4 · Michigan | ✓ DB | 68 | ~67 (27–68) | 6 | · | 99% |
| Wk 5 · Ohio State | ✓ DB | 74 | ~67 (27–71) | 8 | · | 91% |
| Wk 6 · Washington | ✓ DB | 76 | ~71 (29–75) | 3 | 1 | 93% |
| Wk 8 · Minnesota | — | 61 | ~59 (24–61) | 4 | 1 | 97% |
| Wk 9 · Wisconsin | — | 50 | ~50 (20–50) | 3 | · | 100% |
| Season | 6 GS | 494 | 371 (281–413) | 31 | 2 | 75% |
Position Room
19 DBs on the Iowa roster, ordered by tkl
| # | Player | Pos | Class | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Zach Lutmer | DB | SR | 48 | 1.5 | 0 | — | 4 |
| 8 | Deshaun Lee | DB | SR | 25 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Jaylen Watson | DB | 24 | 0.5 | 0 | — | 7 | ||
| Jacob Wallace | DB | 23 | 1.5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 18 | Xavier Styles | DB | JR | 18 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 |
| 2 | Tyler Brown | DB | JR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1 | Darion Jones | DB | FR | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 5 | Anthony Hawkins | DB | JR | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 20 | Ty Hudkins | DB | JR | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 |
| 7 | Rashad Godfrey Jr. | DB | JR | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 0 | Cody Haddad | DB | SO | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 14 | Alex Mota | DB | SR | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 26 | Eli Robbins | DB | FR | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 |
| Marcello Vitti | DB | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | ||
| 16 | Ronnie Hill | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | Kyler Gerardy | DB | JR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Noah Daniel | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Eli Kampman | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Drew MacPherson | DB | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
Stats, EPA and usage come from CollegeFootballData.com and refresh daily. FBS ranks only count players with enough volume for the stat to mean something. Qualifying for EPA takes —+ plays per team game. Iowa depth chart →