2 weeks Ago By Athlon Sports
With the 96th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons have selected Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts from Notre Dame.The 2023 Nagurski Award winner (the nation's best defensive player) will bring his talent to the Atlanta Falcons secondary. Watts became the first Notre Dame safety drafted since Kyle Hamilton in 2022.
The two-time All-American safety is a tremendous on-ball defender.Watts will compete with a Falcons secondary that has continued to add depth during the offseason. Atlanta has stayed true to its speculated form on the defensive side of the football by adding three dynamic defensive athletes with the team's first three draft picks.
Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts prepares to run the 40 yard dash at the teams pro day.Atlanta traded up to the 96th pick with the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Atlanta's number 101, also in the third round, and a 2026 fifth-rounder. Watts was Notre Dame's first two-time consensus All-American since 1993.
He finished his five-year collegiate career with 13 interceptions and 31 passes defended.Watts will likely get the start when the team plays its first NFL game in 2025. Scouts have stated that he can be too aggressive sometimes, leading to mistakes, but he has excellent instincts and overall toughness regarding the run or pass.
Watts is projected as an NFL starter and would fit best in a split-safety, zone-heavy scheme where he can play two-deep and underneath zone. Questions remain on whether the Falcons will continue with the all-defensive trend on day three of the NFL Draft. For now, they have more than stiffened up a defense lacking for quite some time.
Related: Atlanta Falcons Trade Back Into The First Round To Select Another Dynamic Edge RusherRelated: The Falcons Select Edge Rusher Jalon Walker With The 15th Pick In This Year's NFL Draft.
