Scouting Profile: Xavier Watts - SAF - Notre Dame
Sales Pitch: High IQ safety with tremendous ball skills. Average physical traits limits his ceiling but should be an early impact player.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA T-25 for 2024*
Scouting Report
Xavier Watts is a former 3-Star receiver recruit from the state of Nebraska. He didn’t become a full time starter at Notre Dame until the end of his junior year, after which he started 33 straight games. Watts was one of the best defenders in college football the past two years, with consecutive 1st Team All-American honors and a Bronko Nagurski Trophy in 2023.
Watts is an experienced and highly intelligent DB. He was the primary leader for the Fighting Irish secondary, using his communication skills to get everyone on the same page. He is a strong processor with the toughness and aggression that sets the tone for a unit. Watts is at his best in deep zone coverage where he can read out and close on routes in front of him. He is quick to diagnose concepts with the spatial awareness to take away easy access throws. Watts’ isn’t a fantastic athlete, but his plus quickness and top end processing skills gives him the play speed of a much faster player. His play speed gives him good range as a deep safety in both single or two high alignments. The calling card of Watts’ game is his ball skills, logging 13 INT over the past two years. His ability to quickly diagnose and close on the ball puts him in a boatload of favorable spots, and his WR background gives him the skillset to win at the catch point. Watts’ instincts also translate well to run defense. He runs the alley from deep alignments with speed and aggression to blow up perimeter runs. He plays with proper leverage when asked to fit the run from box or slot alignments and he does not shy away from contact at the point of attack, bringing power behind his pads as a tackler.
Watts, who was (likely) generously listed at 6-foot, 200 pounds by Notre Dame, is an average athlete with below average size for the position. His high waisted frame struggles to explode laterally out of his stance. Watts really struggles to mirror WRs in man coverage, as he lacks the agility to stay attached in off coverage. When teams were able to use motion or alignment to isolate him on legit pass catchers, he struggled to keep up. His lack of top end speed also limits him from being an elite CF safety, despite his burst and instincts. Watts’ athletic limitations also show up as a tackler. He plays with a high pad level in the open field and struggles to quickly drop his weight and break down when moving at top speed. It is very important for Watts to take proper pursuit angles as he lacks the makeup athleticism to catch up with ball carriers. At times he will attack downhill with too much aggression, creating a flat angle quicker ball carriers can exploit.
Watts profiles as a deep safety in either a single or two high scheme that runs a heavy amount of zone coverage. His experience, IQ and ball skills should translate from the jump at the next level. Watts lack of elite tools or size at a devalued position will likely drop him out of the 1st Round, but he should be a solid candidate to go early Day-2