Former NFL tight end Benjamin Watson wants fathers to trade perfectionism for integrity, open conversations and daily dependence on God.
“Integrity is the one that’s the most important,” Watson said in July on the “Game Day Grace” podcast recorded at SEC Media Days.
Watson, now a college football analyst for the SEC Network, joined hosts David Schiele and Cory Mose to discuss his book, The New Dad’s Playbook, marriage and the difference between growing up in a Christian home and personally walking out the Christian faith. Watson is a father of seven.
The book grew out of a challenge from Watson’s wife, Kirsten, after the couple had welcomed several children. He said the guide combines practical help for pregnancy and birth with a larger challenge to fathers, rooted in Psalm 127’s picture of children as gifts and arrows.
“We have what it takes, man, to be the priest, prophets, protectors, providers in our household,” Watson said. He founded the Watson Seven Foundation with Kirsten to strengthen families and equip parents.
For the former athlete, fatherhood is not mainly about passing along skills, career advice or athletic ability. It is about showing children what a trustworthy life looks like, even when a parent has to admit failure.
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“Integrity is that character trait of not only accountability and authenticity, but it is being who you project yourself to be,” Watson said. He acknowledged that fathers can find vulnerability difficult because they know they are flawed, but he argued that honesty gives children room to bring their own struggles into the light.
That openness matters especially as children face difficult subjects online. Watson said he talks with his teenage sons about pornography and the shame, curiosity and temptation that can surround it, while emphasizing that they should be able to bring those conversations home rather than hide them.
“I want you to be able to come and tell me,” Watson said of the posture he hopes to cultivate with his sons. The goal, he explained, is not to pretend children or parents will be perfect, but to keep the lines of communication open.
Watson also described faith as something parents can model but never manufacture. After growing up as the son of a pastor, he said the hope of Christian parenting is that, eventually, a child’s faith becomes personal rather than merely inherited from a church or household.
“The hope is that at some point the faith becomes their own,” Watson said. He remembered his father warning that church attendance and a Christian family provide context, but do not substitute for a genuine walk with Christ.
That same surrender shapes Watson’s view of marriage. Referencing Ephesians 5’s command for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church, he said marriage forced him to see spiritual growth as more than private belief.
“It’s to lay our life down,” Watson said of a husband’s calling. He connected that sacrificial posture to prayer, care, love and the daily work of learning how to serve a spouse well.
Watson applied the same principle to surrendering life to God. “You really can’t receive if we’re holding on,” he said, explaining that surrender does not require abandoning a person’s occupation or calling but does require reliance on the Holy Spirit.
Watson’s message is powerful: fathers lead best when they stop performing perfection and start practicing integrity, humility and faithfulness at home.
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