Xavier Watts, Notre Dame: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
Watts was a four-star wide receiver recruit from Burke High School in Omaha, Neb. in the class of 2020
Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts is one of the best ball-hawking safeties in recent college football history. He would’ve been a top 100 pick if he declared after the 2023 season and is still in line for an impressive selection in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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Xavier Watts, S Notre Dame: 2025 NFL Draft Profile
Classification: Fifth-year free safety from Omaha, Neb.
Background: Watts was a four-star wide receiver recruit from Burke High School in Omaha, Neb. in the class of 2020. He was the No. 384 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 341 for On3.com. Watts was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with an 80 grade out of 100. As a senior, he contributed on both sides of the ball, amassing 61 receptions for 1,072 yards and 13 touchdowns and 68 tackles, three interceptions, seven passes defensed, and two defensive touchdowns. Watts was named the local Fox station’s Thursday Night Lights Scholar Athlete of the Year and was on the Nebraska High School Scoreboard Show Heisman Award. As a junior, he made 58 tackles, intercepted five passes, and successfully defensed six others. Watts also caught 67 passes for 1,093 yards and 14 touchdowns. He received All-State recognition as a junior and senior. As a sophomore, Watts made 35 receptions for 813 yards and nine touchdowns and intercepted one pass. He also lettered in basketball and track and field. Watts was born on Nov. 22, 2001.
Injuries & Off-Field: N/A
Awards: 2023 First Team All-American, 2023 Bronko Nagurski Award Winner, 2023 Team Captain, 2024 First Team All-American, 2024 Team Captain, 2024 Sugar Bowl Defensive MVP
Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units, experience in diverse defensive roles and coverages, rarely penalized, good density, good leverage usage at the short to intermediate levels in man coverage, quick to trigger on tight end out routes or routes to the flat, quick to close on receiver at the catch point, gets physical with tight ends at stem’s peak, anticipation on route breaks, awareness in zone, reads the quarterback’s eyes, ball hawk, elite ball production, timing at the catch point, punches through the receiver’s hands for PBUs, turns into a wide receiver with the ball in his hands, engaged run defender from the slot, several notable games stepping downhill to stop wide zone runs, nice finishes on tackles vs. Indiana and Georgia (2024), trigger on QB designed runs
Cons: Some hip tightness, lacks elite COD and recovery speed, grabby early in press reps against tight ends, opens hips prematurely in man coverage, vulnerable when matched up against shifty slot receivers, overtaken and stacked in off-man by speedy slots, lacks true single-high range, gambler in man coverage who tries to undercut routes, some interceptions result of fortunate bounces, stuck on stalk blocks, sometimes hesitant to work downhill, some steep angles put him in trail pursuit, doesn’t come to balance as a tackler consistently
Overview: Watts has experience in a wide variety of roles and alignments. He’s taken snaps lined up in two-high coverage shells, single-high in Cover 1 and Cover 3, off-man over the slot or in-line tight end, and dropped down at the second level in Cover 3. He won’t retain all of that versatility in the NFL, but the experience is valuable. Watts is a dense safety and ball hawk with excellent instincts and understanding of leverage. His awareness in zone coverage and route anticipation rank among the best in the class. Watts reads the quarterback’s eyes and is a true ball hawk with elite production. He benefits from some lucky bounces but also instinctively puts himself in the right place at the right time. Watts quickly triggers on receivers and meets them at the catch point with excellent timing. He punches through their hands to knock the ball out before they secure the catch. The Omaha native’s background as a wide receiver shows up after the interception. He’s a big play threat with the ball in his hands. Watts isn’t the loosest or most explosive athlete, but his use of leverage and quick trigger help him get by in man coverage at the short to intermediate levels. He suffers from some hip tightness and lacks the change of direction and recovery speed to play man coverage against slot receivers at the next level. He opens his hips prematurely in press coverage. Watts lacks the agility, twitch, and speed to stick with receivers and doesn’t have the range to play single-high. He’s vulnerable vertically when isolated with no help over the top, which leads to him grabbing receivers early in the route. The All-American occasionally gets caught gambling while trying to undercut routes. Expect his next team to eliminate most of his man coverage snaps, with the exception of the occasional reps versus tight ends. Watts plays with the physicality at the top of the stem to handle tight coverage against tight ends. He makes some nice tackles running the alley and is an engaged run defender when lined up in the slot. However, he lacks the technique to shed stalk blocks with proper timing and shows some hesitancy to work downhill from depth. Watts takes steep angles in pursuit and misses some tackles because he fails to come to balance.
Overall, Watts is an instinctive ballhawk with an excellent football IQ and natural playmaking ability. His lack of elite athleticism will limit his alignment versatility, but the big plays he’ll create are worth the trade-off. Watts’ extensive experience in college will allow him to fill in for injured players and moonlight in diverse roles as needed.
Role & Scheme Fit: Free safety in a Cover 2 scheme
Round Projection: Early Third Round
Size: 5'11 3/4", 204 lbs. (NFL Combine)
Submitted: 01-25-25