Houston Texans defender J.J. Watt had a monster 2012 season, but the Defensive Player of the Year says he did so while hurt.

Watt never fully healed from a dislocated left elbow suffered early in training camp.

"In the beginning, it definitely affected me," Watt said. "All the ligaments in there were torn, they were all gone, so they had to have time to recover and regroup. So obviously, I wasn't at full strength. The brace helped a lot, but it was more of a mental thing, getting over the thought process of knowing that it was injured and making sure that I could still have confidence in it. ... But (I'm) looking forward to a 100 percent full healthy season."