Anyone who knows former Notre Dame football star Xavier Watts at all knew that the Atlanta Falcons got one of the steals of the NFL draft when the safety fell to the second round earlier this spring. Since he joined the team officially, he's done nothing but prove that over and over again.
On Sunday night, Watts proved it again in a rather emphatic way when he got his first career NFL interception. In the process, Watts waved "night night" to the Minnesota Vikings and helped the Falcons get their first win of the season.
If history is any indication, Watts will be quite the ball-hawking safety for the Falcons. He just wrapped up two seasons with Notre Dame, where he collected 13 interceptions, being one of the leaders in the country at his position. That he's got a pick in just his second NFL game is a great sign.
Former Notre Dame star Xavier Watts back to his ballhawking ways
Falcons pick off McCarthy again!
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It also shows that the former Irish star isn't taking any time at all to get going. He had a fantastic rookie debut in Week 1 despite the Falcons' loss. However, it was the way he put a capper on his first interception and the team's first win of the season that also stood out on Sunday night.
With just under three minutes to go in the game, Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy was trying to rally his team from being down 22-6. However, he uncorked a rather wild deep throw that Watts was able to track down, intercept, and end Minnesota's final threat.
After Watts made the pick, he got up and celebrated by waving goodbye to the fans who had hoped to see their team start the year 2-0.
The former Notre Dame football star also drew plenty of praise from the announcers for his play, as Chris Collingworth said the Falcons are "pumped about him. They think he's gonna be an All-Pro."