Former Falcons GM explains how Xavier Watts fell to 3rd round

One position the Atlanta Falcons won't need to address this weekend is safety, where they have one of the NFL's better starting duos in Jessie Bates III and Xavier Watts. Safety is one of the strongest positions in this draft class , so if Atlanta does take one it'll purely be a luxury pick - but the best of them will be long gone by the time the Falcons are finally on the clock in the middle of Round 2, so don't hold your breath waiting for that scenario. Thanks to some luck in last year's draft, Atlanta is more than well set at this spot.

Former Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot was a guest on the Inner Circle podcast and told the story of how Watts fell to Atlanta in Round 3. "This dude had more takeaways in college football than anyone else," Fontenot said of Watts. "And now you get him in shorts, and nothing special about the workout, nothing stands out about the offseason, all the measureables and all those things, but when you go back to the tape, this is a first-round talent at the safety position.

" “How do you get Xavier Watts in the third round? ” Because sometimes teams stop trusting the tape. This clip from Terry Fontenot is a must watch if you love draft talk.

Full episode out now pic. twitter. com/5lk3toLzxv — The Inner Circle (@Inner_CirclePOD) April 22, 2026 As a rookie, Watts went on to post five interceptions, 11 pass breakups and 96 combined tackles.