Once the Atlanta Falcons drafted Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts with their round pick, 96th overall, it became clear that the Falcons’ plan for Watts is to be the safety of the future alongside Jessie Bates III. However, earlier today on The Morning Shift Mike Johnson and Beau Morgan debated about whether or not the future could be now.
“I actually have now penciled in Xavier Watts at that spot personally, because I think that there is nothing about what I saw from Jordan Fuller last year that tells me that Xavier Watts can’t come in and start right away at safety.” Beau Morgan said
Mike Johnson believes that there’s a chance Xavier can be that guy, but right now he’s not ready to pencil in Atlanta’s third round pick as a day one starter over an NFL veteran.
“I think everybody looks at Xavier Watts and says he can be that guy. I don’t know that’s a big step though man, starting day one over a couple of guys that have been in the NFL for a few years and I know that Jordan Fuller has got his questions, but there were a lot of injuries in Carolina, so I don’t know if I’m ready to hand the keys over to Xavier Watts at that position just yet, but it's definitely one that I think everybody will be keeping their eye on.” Mike said
The Falcons signed veteran safety Jordan Fuller back in mid-March. Fuller has appeared in 57 games, started in 55 of them, and was with the Los Angeles Rams when Raheem Morris was the defensive coordinator in L.A. However, Fuller was with the Carolina Panthers last season, opened up as a starter for the Panthers, missed time with a hamstring injury, and then was a healthy scratch for two games late in the season.
The Falcons also have young safety DeMarcco Hellams who showed a lot of promise in his rookie season, but missed all of last year after going down with a severe ankle injury in the first quarter in the Falcons first preseason game against the Miami Dolphins.
It won’t be easy for Watts to be the week one starter ahead of a veteran safety in Jordan Fuller who has prior experience playing under Raheem Morris, or ahead of a guy who seems to be a promising young talent in DeMarcco Hellams, but the Falcons did trade up for Watts, so they obviously like him, and if he comes in and performs well in rookie mini-camp, OTAs, and training camp Atlanta’s 2025 third round pick could end up being the team’s week one starter next to Jessie Bates.
