Xavier Watts
Xavier Everett Carter Watts is an American professional football football position)|safety] for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, winning the Bronko Nagurski Trophy in 2023. Watts was selected by the Falcons in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft.
Early life
Watts was born on November 22, 2001, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He attended Omaha Burke High School in Omaha, Nebraska. In his career, he hauled in 163 receptions for 2,978 yards and 36 touchdowns, while also rushing for 88 yards and a touchdown. On defense Watts notched 136 tackles with 7.5 being for a loss, 13 pass deflections, nine interceptions, and one touchdown. He was ranked as the number two recruit in the state of Nebraska in the 2019 class. Watts committed to play college football at the University of Notre Dame as a wide receiver.College career
2020 season
In the COVID-19 shortened 2020 [Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|2020 season], Watts was given a redshirt after appearing in two games and recording no statistics.2021 season
During the start of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|2021 season], injuries to the linebacker position made it possible for Watts to switch from receiver to defense. He saw snaps at the "rover" position, a mix between safety and linebacker. Watts made his first defensive contribution against 2021 [Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech], making three total tackles, in route to a 32–29 win. He also saw time at strong safety when Kyle Hamilton went down with a knee injury. Over 11 games, Watts had 15 total tackles.2022 season
Watts entered the 2022 season as the backup safety to Brandon Joseph. In the Irish's game against 2022 [Stanford Cardinal football team|Stanford], he had a career-high seven total tackles. In Week 11, Watts got his first career start against 2022 [Navy Midshipmen football team|Navy] where he recorded a career-high eight tackles. Two weeks later, he set a new career-high in tackles making nine against 2022 [USC Trojans football team|USC]. Watts played in 13 games with four starts in 2022 finishing the season with 39 total tackles and four pass deflections.2023 season
In Week 2 of the 2023 season, Watts recorded his first career interception in a win over 2023 [NC State Wolfpack football team|NC State], 45–24. In Week 5, he recorded another big interception that helped Notre Dame beat 2023 [Duke Blue Devils football team|Duke], 21–14. In Week 7, Watts intercepted Caleb Williams on the first series of the game to help set up Notre Dame. Watts finished his career performance with seven tackles, two interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a touchdown, as he helped the Fighting Irish upset No. 10 USC Trojans football team|USC], 48–20. Watts finished the regular season with 47 total tackles, four pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a defensive touchdown. He also had an NCAA-leading seven interceptions, which helped him win the 2023 Bronko Nagurski Trophy. Following the season, Watts was selected as a Unanimous All-American along with teammate Joe Alt.2024 season
Ahead of the 2024 season, Watts was named preseason All-American by the Associated Press, ESPN, The Sporting News, and USA Today. He was also named one of the five Fighting Irish team captains. During the season opener, Watts collected his first interception of the season to help Notre Dame beat No. 20 2024 [Texas A&M Aggies football team|Texas A&M]. Against No. 15 Louisville Cardinals football team|Louisville], he returned an interception 34 yards and forced a quarterback hurry that made the Cardinals turn the ball over on downs in the fourth quarter, sealing the 31–24 victory. During the final game of the season, Christian Gray intercepted one of USC quarterback Jayden Maiava's passes and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown, breaking Notre Dame's record for longest interception return. On the next drive, Watts picked off Maiava at the goal line, returning it for 100 yards and breaking Gray's record to help Notre Dame win 49–35.After losing to 2024 [Northern Illinois Huskies football team|Northern Illinois] on September 7, Notre Dame won 10 straight games to make the College Football Playoff as the No. 7 seed, hosting No. 10 2024 [Indiana Hoosiers football team|Indiana] in the first round. After defeating Indiana, Notre Dame faced No. 2 2024 [Georgia Bulldogs football team|Georgia] in the Sugar Bowl, where Watts would be named Defensive MVP in the 23–10 win. Notre Dame would then defeat No. 6 2024 [Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State] in the Orange Bowl before losing to No. 8 2024 [Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State] in the College Football Playoff National Championship|CFP National Championship].
Watts gained Consensus All-American status after being selected to the first team by four of the five selectors. On January 24, 2025, Watts declared for the 2025 NFL draft.
Professional career
2025 season
Watts was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the 96th pick in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft. On May 9, 2025, Watts signed a four-year, $6.19 million contract with the Falcons. In Week 1, Watts made his NFL debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers season|Tampa Bay Buccaneers], totaling six solo tackles and two pass deflections in the Falcons' 20–23 loss. A week later, against the Minnesota Vikings season|Minnesota Vikings], Watts got his first career interception off quarterback J. J. McCarthy. In Week 4 against the Washington Commanders season|Washington Commanders], Watts intercepted backup quarterback Marcus Mariota. In the first month of the season, Watts collected 23 total tackles, four pass deflections, and two interceptions, earning September Defensive Rookie of the Month honors.On December 29, 2025, in Week 17 against the Los Angeles Rams, Watts intercepted quarterback Matthew Stafford twice and was a key defensive player in the 27-24 win.