ND Star Watts Has Plenty of Love For Raiders' Mayer

Notre Dame star safety Xavier Watts could reunite with his college teammate, tight end Michael Mayer, on the Las Vegas Raiders.

Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Notre Dame defensive back Xavier Watts (DB53) during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tanner Pearson-Imagn Images | Tanner Pearson-Imagn Images

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Las Vegas Raiders are hard at work looking for talent through the 2025 NFL Draft. 

The Raiders have been present at the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium, meeting with several prospects in this class. They must find more talent on both sides of the ball. 

One prospect they have met with is Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts. The Omaha, Neb., native was one of the major reasons the Fighting Irish made it to the national championship. 

I spoke with Watts at the Combine, who confirmed he has met with the Raiders. 

“That coaching staff is really good,” he said. “Coach [Pete] Carroll, obviously, he’s the new head coach there, so just meeting with those guys was a good conversation.”

Watts was teammates with Raiders tight end Michael Mayer, who he spoke highly of. 

“Mike Mayer’s an awesome guy,” he said. “I came in the same class as him, he was a 2020 guy with me. So, he’s one of my close friends. So, obviously, Mike is a really talented player, so we’ll see what happens.”

Mayer was a five-star prospect out of Alexandria, KY, and ranked as the 23rd overall high school prospect. Watts was a four-star prospect who arrived at Notre Dame as a wide receiver before eventually switching to defensive back. 

Watts finished his career with the Fighting Irish with 188 total tackles, nine for loss, 18 passes defended, a sack and a half, and 13 interceptions. 

He has natural center-fielder abilities at safety and is not afraid to hit ball carriers. He is an incredible ballhawk, finishing second in the country in interceptions with six and leading the nation in 2023 with seven. 

Both the Raiders’ starting safeties, Tre’von Moehrig and Marcus Epps, are set to hit free agency in a few weeks. If the Raiders do not bring back either safety, they could strongly consider drafting Watts. 

Watts is likely a second-round pick, so if he is on the board when the Raiders select at No. 37 overall, he could be a good fit. 

As the Raiders evaluate all options in the draft, Watts hopes his meeting with the Raiders left an impression on the Silver and Black brass.

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