NFL kick-off 2014: Menelik Watson eyes Oakland Raiders success

“My body was all out of whack and I wasn’t getting all of the massages or therapy in order to prevent certain injuries.”

The biggest lesson Watson has learned from his first season in the NFL? “To take care of my body – to listen to my body.”

Watson has since put those injury problems behind him and looks certain to be the Raiders’ starting right tackle on the offensive line – opening up gaps for running backs to charge through, and helping to protect his quarterback from blitzing defenders.

Unlike other sports, though, there are no reserve leagues in the NFL, and this makes competition for places on each team’s 53-man roster incredibly tough.

Does the sport suffer for that?

“It doesn’t,” says Watson, “because it creates elitism. You either make the elite group or you don’t. It creates this ‘do or die’, ‘make or break’ environment which is very intense.

“From a business standpoint it’s very harsh but I guess the strong can endure it.”

Apart from baffling team-mates with his strong accent and annoying them by constantly going on about his beloved Manchester City, Watson says he loves being part of the Raiders set-up.

But given that professional sport is often an uneasy compromise between teamwork and single-minded individualism, how tough is it to be mates with guys who are your rivals?

“You know, it’s funny – a lot of coaches preach to you about protecting your job. But honestly, for me, I’m not interested in what somebody else is doing. I’m interested in being the best I can be and if I can be the best that I can be I will never have to worry about anyone coming in and taking my job.”