Linkster

Today's Linkster #41 · NFL

T.J. Watt to DeForest Buckner

On Sunday, October 11, 2026, everyone playing the NFL Today's Linkster got the same two players: get from T.J. Watt to DeForest Buckner in as few links as possible. Par was 3, counted through colleges, but any shared college, jersey number or team counted as a move.

The two players

  • T.J. Watt (OLB, 2017–2026) College: Wisconsin. Team: Pittsburgh Steelers. Number: #90.
  • DeForest Buckner (DT, 2017–2026) College: Oregon. Teams: Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers. Number: #99.

Seasons 2017–2026. Jersey numbers and teams only count from seasons in that range.

How it went

7 players solved it on the day. 4 beat par with a shortcut, and 7 matched or beat it in all. The winning run was Troutisstillhim's: 2 links in 0:09.9.

The answer

Show a shortest route

Through colleges alone it takes 3, which is par:

  1. T.J. Watt
  2. Wisconsin Isaac Guerendo
  3. Louisville Tyler Shough
  4. Oregon DeForest Buckner

With every kind of link counting, it could be done in 2:

  1. T.J. Watt
  2. Wisconsin Jonathan Taylor
  3. Indianapolis Colts DeForest Buckner