The wait for former Notre Dame football star Xavier Watts was a bit longer than he likely hoped it would be. After all, the man is a former All-American and one of the best safeties in all of college football. But in a draft where his position simply didn’t get picked all that often, Watts had to wait until the Atlanta Falcons took him with the No. 96 overall pick to finally find his NFL home.
In the process, Watts becomes an instant steal for a squad that could definitely use some help in its defensive back field. And the Nebraska native will now get to show that all those people who decided to wait until the second day of the draft almost came to a close, were very, very wrong.
Falcons land potential draft steal with Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts
Watts also becomes the second former Notre Dame football defensive back to be selected on the second night of the 2025 NFL Draft. He saw teammate Benjamin Morrison get drafted about 30 picks ahead of him, in the second round.
Watts and Morrison both going in the first three rounds marks the first time since 1994 that Notre Dame had two DBs picked in the first three rounds of the same draft in Jeff Burris and Willie Clark.
The former Notre Dame player’s story is certainly an interesting one. He chose the Fighting Irish over the Nebraska Cornhuskers and came to South Bend as a wide receiver. He then got moved to linebacker before he landed and safety and found a home.
In 2023, Watts led the country in interceptions with 7 while also racking up 52 tackles a fumble forced, a fumble recovery and 4 passes defended. Last season, he played even better, getting 82 tackles, 6 interceptions, and 10 passes defended.
Despite that obvious improvement over what was a Nagurski Award winning performance, Xavier Watts had to wait until the third round of the NFL Draft was almost over. But now the former Notre Dame football star can turn his attention to getting ready for the next level.