NFL Draft Film Breakdown: Xavier Watts an Ideal Fit in Cincinnati Bengals' Secondary?

Xavier Watts is one of the most decorated safeties in college football.

He's a back-to-back consensus All-American, Bronko Nagurski winner, a team captain, and led the NCAA in interceptions in 2023 (7) and had the second most (6) in 2024.

Watts is a former 3-star recruit from the state of Nebraska who was actually recruited as a wide receiver. He moved from receiver to linebacker his sophomore season and then from linebacker to safety his junior season. He’s become one of the best safeties in college football, even though he’s only been playing the position for three years.

Let’s dig into his film and see what makes him a great player:

Where He Excels

He's an extremely intelligent football player, which helps him play even faster than his athleticism. He is very aware of what the offense is trying to do in both the run and pass game and does everything he can to disrupt that.

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— Walter (@Pff_Walter) February 12, 2025

Watts has quite a bit of range as a deep safety because of that intelligence. He can work all the way out to outside of the numbers as the post safety by reading out the quarterback and having a feel for the route distribution.

Xavier Watts getting outside of the numbers as the post safety to make a play on this ballpic.twitter.com/nY4ceJRnaS
— mike (@bengals_sans) January 25, 2025

He flies off of the roof of the defense to get involved in run support. Very willing and able to run the alley and make plays in the run game even as the deep safety.

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— Walter (@Pff_Walter) February 12, 2025

He has the ball skills of a former receiver. Good hands, tracks the ball well down the field, and had some quality returns after making the interception. He has 13 interceptions in his last two seasons combined.

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— Walter (@Pff_Walter) February 12, 2025

Watts did an exemplary job playing man coverage when asked by Notre Dame. He plays to his leverage well, anticipates the breaks of the receiver, and is physical to disrupt timing.

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— Walter (@Pff_Walter) February 12, 2025

Areas of Concern

He's a bit of a stiff athlete. Sometimes he has issues changing direction and does not glide or move as smoothly as you may expect from a free safety.

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— Walter (@Pff_Walter) February 12, 2025

He can take poor angles at times which lead to missed tackles. He’s not a liability when trying to tackle or anything, but if he cleaned up some of his angles, he would very rarely miss tackles.

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— Walter (@Pff_Walter) February 12, 2025

Age is a concern for him as he is entering the league as a 23 year old player that will turn 24 during the regular season.

Overall Thoughts

Watts is a player who thrives because of his intelligence. A majority of his highlights can be rooted in him processing and seeing the field very well. He is one of those safeties who plays faster on the field than he may test at the combine.

He breaks on things before other players. He reads the eyes and shoulder of the quarterback in vision coverage extremely well, he diagnoses and recognizes run plays faster than other players. He's able to consistently play at full speed because he knows exactly what he needs to do and how to stop the offense.

Because of his intelligence on the field and his ball skills, Watts can do everything asked of a safety. He does an excellent job down the field of tracking the ball and making plays on it at the highest point. He has the range to play outside of the numbers as the post safety. He can come off of the roof of the defense and plays with aggression when defending the run.

He also has the size and prior linebacker experience to play in the box when needed. He can even play man coverage against opposing tight ends and even slot receivers at times. Watts does a great job to anticipate what that receiver is going to do and stay tight to them. He avoids pick plays and will be physical with a tight end when needed.

Overall, he does just about everything at a high level. The main issues are just that he’s a bit of a stiff athlete with maybe some balance issues. When asked to change direction there are examples of him needing an extra step and wasting movement and of him losing his balance at times and needing to find his footing. That and his age may limit his potential as a player, but Watts is a guy that NFL teams should want to get into their building.

Scheme Fit

He can really do it all so he fits anywhere. Maybe at his best if he goes somewhere that he can do it all though and is not just stuck in one position. A defensive mind that is willing to put him all over the field and ask him to do everything.

NFL Comparison

Michael Griffin

Draft Grade

Early 2nd Round

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