Falcons See Shades of Jessie Bates in Rookie DB Xavier Watts

When the Atlanta Falcons signed veteran safety Justin Simmons before the 2024 season, it gave All-Pro safety Jessie Bates III the chance to pair with the player he idolized when he entered the NFL in 2018.

Less than one year later, Bates is on the other end.

The Falcons selected Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts in the third round of April's draft. Watts said he models his game after Bates, citing their similarities in size, ball skills, playmaking aptitude and overall play style.

Atlanta, in essence, gave Bates a proverbial "mini-me." Bates said he and Watts talk all the time. They start their days in the steam room together. Now that there's film to watch, Bates anticipating breaking it down with Watts while they pick each other's brain.

Bates jokes that being an idol makes him feel old, but being around Watts keeps him young -- and sharp.

"Went to Notre Dame, smart guy, ball skills (are) off the charts," Bates said Tuesday about Watts. "It'll be good to have a guy like that, that plays above the head, has a good feel for just football itself. He's a hell of a football player.

"It's going to be nice to be that leader for him, because I know what that was like as a safety walking in."

Bates's resume coming out of Wake Forest in 2018 wasn't as illustrious as Watts's, but there were similarities. Bates had five interceptions and a pair of pick-sixes in 2016, though he had just one interception in 2017. Watts recorded seven interceptions in 2023 and six interceptions in 2024.

But the comparisons between the two stem more from traits than numbers. Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich touted Watts's instincts, anticipation, awareness, ball skills and conceptual defensive understanding as key reasons the Falcons fell for his skill set.

To Ulbrich, the tools that made Watts appealing are reminiscent to a younger Bates.

"A really cool player, and a very similar player I would have said to when I evaluated Jessie coming out," Ulbrich said April 26. "Guys that play the neck up elitely. He's an exciting one."

Ulbrich, Atlanta's first-year defensive coordinator, said Bates is the player he's most excited to coach on his new team. Falcons head coach Raheem Morris is entering his second season with Bates.

Morris's knowledge of what makes Bates tick is more developed than Ulbrich's, but he shares in seeing shades of Bates in Watts.

"He’s very instinctual like Jessie Bates," Morris said April 25. "He’s not afraid to take those shots and take those chances when necessary. Definitely sees the ball off light and come out the quarterback's hands and do some of those things really well.

"Ball skills and ball awareness is what you kind of talk about. This guy has both ball skills and ball awareness, and I think they're at a really high level.”

Bates refined his skill set and now holds a pair of second-team All-Pro honors to his name through seven NFL seasons. He's logged 10 interceptions and seven forced fumbles in two years with the Falcons, a tenure preceeded by five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, who drafted him No. 54 overall in 2018.

The 28-year-old Bates has also emerged as a team leader -- he's a two-time captain and respected voice in the locker room. Morris believes Watts, who was a captain in 2024 at Notre Dame, has the makeup of a future NFL captain, and he'll get the chance to grow his leader attributes learning under one of the Falcons' most poised, intelligent players.

"Watts, he’s coming in with such a serious demeanor and a mindset, playing in a pro-style defense," Morris said May 27. "His mindset is very similar to Jessie. ... What better example for Watts to have than to be able to look at a guy like that and how he prepares and how he studies and how he's actually able to go apply it in the grass?"

Morris said the future of Watts -- and all rookies -- includes developing their bodies, improving in meetings and building relationships. The Falcons started OTAs on Tuesday, meaning Watts is still in the early phases of that process.

But the Falcons have confidence in how his journey will unfold, in part because Bates has already laid the groundwork -- both on and off the field.

Falcons assistant general manager Kyle Smith acknowledged Watts's similarities to Bates made him more appealing to Atlanta during the pre-draft process. But what eased the Falcons' mind the most is that Watts can play several positions on the back end, carrying similar versatility to Bates.

"I think what makes it cleaner when you're doing evals is when they're playing exactly how you see your defense play," Smith said. "There's not a ton of, 'Oh shoot, we haven't seen him in the post. Oh shoot, we haven't seen him covering tight ends. Okay, man, I don't know about how he is as a box player.'

"Watts is one of those guys that you've seen him make plays and do things at all three levels, which makes it a cleaner eval. So Xavier was a clean eval that way of seeing him do exactly what you envision him doing for us."

The Falcons' safety room also includes veteran free agent signee Jordan Fuller and rising third-year pro DeMarcco Hellams, who missed all of the 2024 season due to an ankle injury sustained in the preseason.

Falcons secondary coach Justin Hood won't project roles, merely competition within the room. But the picture is clearer to Bates, who expects his prized understudy to become an important wingman sooner rather than later this fall.

"Let's face it: We've got some young guys that are going to have to make some impactful plays for us this year, and Xavier's a part of that," Bates said. "So, excited to work with him."