"SB Nation's Doug Farrar writes about the game's Secret Superstars - those players whose performances might slip under the radar for whatever reasons. In this installment, we focus on Atlanta Falcons rookie safety Xavier Watts, who was ignored by the NFL until the third round of the 2025 draft. The Falcons couldn't believe that, and now, they feel quite blessed that the rest of the league let them pick Watts off as he's picked opponents off... especially against the Rams on Monday night."
"Emmanwori went to the Seattle Seahawks with the 35th overall pick in the second round to be head coach Mike Macdonald's new Kyle Hamilton (Macdonald had helped Hamilton become what he is as Baltimore's defensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023), and that's worked out pretty well so far. Starks went to the Ravens with the 27th overall pick in the first round, and he's played well for the most part."
"When you're a draft analyst, there are times when you have absolutely no idea what the NFL is thinking. There are times when a prospect has all the tape, all the metrics, and all the potential to be a first-round talent in the pros, and for whatever reason, the pros don't agree. This was the case in my pre-draft analysis of Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts."
Xavier Watts fell to the 96th overall pick in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft despite strong college performance and deep-third coverage skills. Atlanta selected him and has benefited from his play, including multiple interceptions and a notable performance against the Rams. The 2025 safety class centered on Watts, Malaki Starks, and Nick Emmanwori; Emmanwori went 35th to Seattle and Starks went 27th to Baltimore, both producing solid early returns. Watts was widely regarded as the best deep-third safety in the class, and his availability in round three surprised many evaluators.
Read at The Falcoholic
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