Eagles add 'ball-hawking safety' in latest mock draft

No team allowed fewer yards in 2024 than the Philadelphia Eagles. But after parting ways with C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the Super Bowl champs could use a good safety.

In his latest mock draft for Pro Football Focus, John Kosko predicts the team will take Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts with the 32nd pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. While some consider Watts to be the most skilled safety in this draft, others can’t get past his tackling.

PFF graded Watts as missing 18.8 percent of his tackle attempts in 2023, his first year as a starter, although he did better in 2024, missing just 12.6 percent of tackles. By comparison, Gardner-Johnson missed 9.2 percent of tackles for the Eagles last season while starting free safety Reed Blankenship missed 10 percent.

“Obviously, I'm an aggressive player, so sometimes I take aggressive angles,” Watts told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. “So, they kind of have a question, sometimes, on what I do when it comes to tackling.”

Tackling issues aside, there’s a reason PFF ranks Watts as the second-best safety and the 39th-best prospect on their annual big board. Kosko calls Watts “the best ball-hawking safety in this class thanks to his intelligence and ability to break on the football.” 

As a former wide receiver in high school and as a freshman with Notre Dame, Watts’ ball skills are undeniable. He had seven interceptions in 2023 and six more last season, including this pick-six against against USC.