Xavier Watts left a legacy at Notre Dame for persevering through position switches and allowing himself to be developed into a two-time All-American safety by the end of his five seasons with the Irish.
Watts will continue to test his growth at the NFL level after being selected Friday in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Atlanta Falcons picked Watts at No. 96 overall. The second night of the draft was nearly over before Watts heard from the Falcons.
“It was a crazy feeling,” Watts told reporters. “It’s just crazy. I waited all night and it was good to get the call from the Falcons. I’m just really excited to be a part of the team.”
Watts became the first Notre Dame safety to be drafted since Kyle Hamilton in 2022. When Hamilton was selected by the Baltimore Ravens with the No. 14 overall pick in that year’s draft, Watts had to yet to make his first career start at Notre Dame.
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That first start came later that year when Watts started the final four games of the season in his first full season as a safety. Watts, who was recruited to Notre Dame as a wide receiver out of Omaha (Neb.) Burke, made the switch to playing defense as a sophomore in 2021 but only settled into safety after being asked to try the rover linebacker role first. He started to show potential as a defender with increased playing time in November 2021.
Watts made his first career start a year later when Brandon Joseph missed time with an ankle injury. He continued to impress with his limited opportunities and appeared to set himself up for a full-time starting role as a senior in 2023. But it was hard to imagine just how good Watts would become in his next two seasons with the Irish.
Watts ended the 2023 season as a unanimous All-American and the winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy for the best defender in college football. He finished in a tie for the most interceptions in the country with seven, two of which came against USC quarterback Caleb Williams, who won the Heisman Trophy the previous season and went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Watts added 52 tackles, three tackles for loss, four pass breakups and one forced fumble to his season stat line.
Watts may have played even better as a graduate senior in 2024 despite not receiving the same level of recognition. Watts, who served as one of Notre Dame’s captains, received consensus All-America status but didn’t advance past the semifinal round for several individual awards. He still finished the 16-game season with 82 tackles, six interceptions, 10 pass breakups and one forced fumble.
Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris attended Notre Dame’s 27-24 win over Penn State in the College Football Playoff semifinal hosted by the Orange Bowl. Morris has a relationship with Penn State head coach James Franklin from when they coached together at Kansas State — Morris as defensive coordinator and Franklin as offensive coordinator — in 2006. Morris said he saw ball skills and versatility that night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
“Instincts. Ball skills. Anticipation. Former receiver,” Morris said of Watts. “He’s very instinctual like [Falcons safety] Jessie Bates. He’s not afraid to take those shots and take those chances when necessary. Definitely can see the ball flight coming out of the quarterback’s hands and do some of those things really well. So, we have all those things and that’s really about it. Really ball skills and ball awareness is what you kind of talk about. This guy has both ball skills and ball awareness, and I think they’re at a really high level.”
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The Falcons made Bates one of the highest-paid safeties in the NFL when they signed him to a four-year contract prior to the 2023 season. He became a Pro Bowler in his first season with the Falcons after five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. Watts will be competing with Jordan Fuller, who signed a one-year contract as a free agent this offseason, and DeMarcoo Hellams, a seventh-round pick in the 2023 draft, for a chance to start alongside Bates.
Watts said Bates is one of the players he’s modeled his game after.
“We’re similar in size,” Watts said. “He gets the ball. He’s a playmaker. He can tackle well. So, I feel like we’re very similar in all aspects of the game of football.”
The Falcons gave up a 2026 fifth-round pick to switch spots in the third round with the Philadelphia Eagles. That allowed Atlanta to move up five spots and make sure it could take Watts.
“We had Xavier Watts up there pretty high,” said Falcons general manger Terry Fontenot. “We all like him. Start with the makeup, I mean, outstanding character, serious worker, competitor, high-end instincts, former receiver, ball hawk, more picks than, anybody in college ball last two years.
“So, this guy’s a stud, versatile, all those things. So we’re very excited. We knew he could go before us and so we’re aggressive when we went up and got him and very excited about that.”
Watts will work to prove he can continue to be a playmaker at the NFL level after starting the last 33 games of his Notre Dame career. The former three-star recruit who Rivals ranked as the No. 90 wide receiver in the 2020 recruiting class was the sixth safety selected in the 2025 draft class.
Watts was the second Notre Dame pick in this year’s draft behind cornerback Benjamin Morrison. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Morrison in the second round with the No. 53 overall pick earlier Friday.
Watts joined a pair of former Notre Dame players on Atlanta’s roster: linebacker JD Bertrand, who was drafted by the Falcons in the fifth round last year, and defensive end Khalid Kareem, who signed a one-year deal with the Falcons this offseason.
Simply eXcellent ☘️
Every @xavierwatts6 interception
The best of Xavier Watts 🔗 https://t.co/tF0E1XXW33#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/4R7fiDa0OE
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) April 1, 2025
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Atlanta Falcons pick Notre Dame S Xavier Watts in NFL Draft’s third round
Xavier Watts left a legacy at Notre Dame for persevering through position switches and allowing himself to be developed into a two-time All-American safety by the end of his five seasons with the Irish.
Watts will continue to test his growth at the NFL level after being selected Friday in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Atlanta Falcons picked Watts at No. 96 overall. The second night of the draft was nearly over before Watts heard from the Falcons.
“It was a crazy feeling,” Watts told reporters. “It’s just crazy. I waited all night and it was good to get the call from the Falcons. I’m just really excited to be a part of the team.”
Watts became the first Notre Dame safety to be drafted since Kyle Hamilton in 2022. When Hamilton was selected by the Baltimore Ravens with the No. 14 overall pick in that year’s draft, Watts had to yet to make his first career start at Notre Dame.
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That first start came later that year when Watts started the final four games of the season in his first full season as a safety. Watts, who was recruited to Notre Dame as a wide receiver out of Omaha (Neb.) Burke, made the switch to playing defense as a sophomore in 2021 but only settled into safety after being asked to try the rover linebacker role first. He started to show potential as a defender with increased playing time in November 2021.
Watts made his first career start a year later when Brandon Joseph missed time with an ankle injury. He continued to impress with his limited opportunities and appeared to set himself up for a full-time starting role as a senior in 2023. But it was hard to imagine just how good Watts would become in his next two seasons with the Irish.
Watts ended the 2023 season as a unanimous All-American and the winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy for the best defender in college football. He finished in a tie for the most interceptions in the country with seven, two of which came against USC quarterback Caleb Williams, who won the Heisman Trophy the previous season and went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Watts added 52 tackles, three tackles for loss, four pass breakups and one forced fumble to his season stat line.
Watts may have played even better as a graduate senior in 2024 despite not receiving the same level of recognition. Watts, who served as one of Notre Dame’s captains, received consensus All-America status but didn’t advance past the semifinal round for several individual awards. He still finished the 16-game season with 82 tackles, six interceptions, 10 pass breakups and one forced fumble.
Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris attended Notre Dame’s 27-24 win over Penn State in the College Football Playoff semifinal hosted by the Orange Bowl. Morris has a relationship with Penn State head coach James Franklin from when they coached together at Kansas State — Morris as defensive coordinator and Franklin as offensive coordinator — in 2006. Morris said he saw ball skills and versatility that night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
“Instincts. Ball skills. Anticipation. Former receiver,” Morris said of Watts. “He’s very instinctual like [Falcons safety] Jessie Bates. He’s not afraid to take those shots and take those chances when necessary. Definitely can see the ball flight coming out of the quarterback’s hands and do some of those things really well. So, we have all those things and that’s really about it. Really ball skills and ball awareness is what you kind of talk about. This guy has both ball skills and ball awareness, and I think they’re at a really high level.”
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The Falcons made Bates one of the highest-paid safeties in the NFL when they signed him to a four-year contract prior to the 2023 season. He became a Pro Bowler in his first season with the Falcons after five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. Watts will be competing with Jordan Fuller, who signed a one-year contract as a free agent this offseason, and DeMarcoo Hellams, a seventh-round pick in the 2023 draft, for a chance to start alongside Bates.
Watts said Bates is one of the players he’s modeled his game after.
“We’re similar in size,” Watts said. “He gets the ball. He’s a playmaker. He can tackle well. So, I feel like we’re very similar in all aspects of the game of football.”
The Falcons gave up a 2026 fifth-round pick to switch spots in the third round with the Philadelphia Eagles. That allowed Atlanta to move up five spots and make sure it could take Watts.
“We had Xavier Watts up there pretty high,” said Falcons general manger Terry Fontenot. “We all like him. Start with the makeup, I mean, outstanding character, serious worker, competitor, high-end instincts, former receiver, ball hawk, more picks than, anybody in college ball last two years.
“So, this guy’s a stud, versatile, all those things. So we’re very excited. We knew he could go before us and so we’re aggressive when we went up and got him and very excited about that.”
Watts will work to prove he can continue to be a playmaker at the NFL level after starting the last 33 games of his Notre Dame career. The former three-star recruit who Rivals ranked as the No. 90 wide receiver in the 2020 recruiting class was the sixth safety selected in the 2025 draft class.
Watts was the second Notre Dame pick in this year’s draft behind cornerback Benjamin Morrison. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Morrison in the second round with the No. 53 overall pick earlier Friday.
Watts joined a pair of former Notre Dame players on Atlanta’s roster: linebacker JD Bertrand, who was drafted by the Falcons in the fifth round last year, and defensive end Khalid Kareem, who signed a one-year deal with the Falcons this offseason.
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