2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Mississippi State LB Nathaniel Watson

From now until the 2023 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Mississippi State LB Nathaniel Watson.

#14 NATHANIEL WATSON, LB, MISSISSIPPI STATE – (R-SENIOR) 6020, 233 POUNDS

SENIOR BOWL INVITE

MEASUREMENTS

THE GOOD

— Has good size, length and strength for the position
— Plays with the aggressiveness and demeanor of a throwback linebacker
— Displays good sideline-to-sideline pursuit of the football
— Downhill thumper that does well filling gaps in-between the tackles
— Does well as a blitzer shooting gaps playing chase of the quarterback
— Impressive stat sheet production, posting 31 tackles for loss and 21 sacks since the start of 2021
— Can take on blocks to stack and shed with a strong punch
— Does a good job closing to the football as a blitzer looking to sack the quarterback
— Will wrap up ball carriers and roll them to the ground to minimize missed tackle attempts
— Effective at making drops into zone coverage with his head on a swivel

THE BAD

— High-cut athlete who can play with better leverage when taking on blocks
— Lacks great quickness to change directions suddenly
— Tends to pull up in pursuit when he sees a teammate arriving on the scene
— Can be slow to shed and fight off blocks to make tackles
— Will get out-angled by ball carriers in space
— Tends to struggle in man coverage due to tight hips and spatial awareness
— Will be a 24-year-old rookie (sixth-year senior)
— Has two arrests already on his record

BIO

— Redshirt Senior prospect from Maplesville, AL
— Born Sept. 1, 2000 (age 23)
— Uncle, Harold Morrow, played fullback at Auburn University and in the NFL for 10 seasons
— Shares the nickname “Bookie” with his father
— Three-star recruit according to Rivals, led Maplesville to three state championships
— Competed in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game
— Says his “Why” in life is his mother, grandmother, two older sisters, and his late aunt
— Was a better offensive player in high school, but committed to Mississippi State as a linebacker
— Appeared in two games before redshirting in 2018, logged 3 total tackles
— Appeared in seven games in 2019, making 2 total tackles
— Appeared in all 11 games with three starts in 2020 and made 39 total stops (15 solo) with a pass deflection
— Appeared and started 12 games in 2021 and made 84 total tackles (33 solo), 5 sacks, 6 tackles for loss, 2 quarterback hurries and a pass deflection
— Appeared in 13 games with 12 starts in 2022 and made 113 tackles (51 solo), 12 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and intercepted 1 pass with a 51-yard return
— Appeared and started 12 games and made 137 tackles (35 solo), 10 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 pass deflections, and an interception
— Arrested in 2018 with felony assault and various other traffic violations following a street racing incident
— Arrested in May 2023 for suspicion of driving under the influence
— Has his Masters in Workforce Education and his undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies
— SEC Defensive Player of the Year (2023), First-team All-SEC (2023), Second-team All-SEC (2022), 3x SEC Academic Honor Roll (2020,2022-23)

TAPE BREAKDOWN

Nathaniel Watson took the long route to the NFL, going from a high school star in Alabama to sitting the bench his first three seasons at Mississippi State. He has been arrested twice during his time with the Bulldogs, once in 2018 for street racing and again before his senior season for suspicion of driving under the influence. Still, Watson has managed to graduate with his Masters degree after being in school for six seasons, culminating his time as a Bulldog in 2023 where he led the SEC in both tackles and sacks, and is the only SEC player to lead the conference in both tackles and sacks in the same season. Watson posted back-to-back 21 tackle performances against Southern Miss and Ole Miss to close out the 2023 season, winning SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

When you plug in the tape on Watson, you see an aggressive, throwback-style linebacker that possesses the demeanor you look for at the position. He “sees red like a bull” like he told me at the NFL Combine when looking to hit his opponent, bringing that physicality that defines what a linebacker should be. He had quite the hit that encapsulates this mantra in the Senior Bowl over a month ago, closing ground on a receiver catching the ball over the middle as he proceeds ot wrap him up and pildrive him into the turf.

While Watson will look for the highlight hit, he also is a sure tackler, having the technique to wrap up and roll the ball carrier down to stop their forward momentum. Here’s an example of Watson making the clutch tackle on 3rd-and-1 against Alabama this past season, coming off the edge hard to wrap up the runner and gator roll him down to the ground to take out his motor and keep him from crossing the line to gain.

Watson’s tackling prowess also shows up as a blitzer, having 21 sacks in his last three seasons including 10 this past season. He provides great pursuit of the quarterback, shooting gaps as he closes space to get into the backfield and make plays to put the offense back. Here are a couple of examples from this past season of Watson rushing the quarterback, working around blocks to corral the passer in the backfield and successfully chasing him down for the sack. In the second clip, you see Watson properly stack and shed the guard tasked with blocking him, getting off the block cleanly to hunt down the quarterback from behind.

Watson has the play strength, length and demeanor to attack blocks and shed them on his path to the football. He provides good pursuit of the ball as you can see in the clip below against LSU, stretching out the blocker toward the sideline as he tracks down QB Jayden Daniels on the keeper, getting off the block to make the tackle as Daniels begins to slide.

Watson isn’t the strongest coverage linebacker due to having tight hips and being more high-cut, but he is competent at dropping into zones, occupying space, and going to the football while the ball is in the air. He finds himself in the right places at the right times on occasion like during this rep against Arizona, catching the tipped pass for the interception whiling managing to run it back 16 yards before being brought down.

Still, Watson isn’t the most fluid athlete when it comes to playing in space and adjusting his pursuit to ball carriers looking to evade him in the open field. Here are a couple examples against the Tigers where Watson misses tackles in the open field due to lack of awareness as well as ability to sink his hips and adjust quickly in space laterally, leading to missed attempts.

Watson also has a tendency to attack blocks upright and be slow to disengage from them, resulting in ball carriers beating him to the angle and Watson being taken out of the play. Here are a couple more examples against LSU where Watson attacks the block and is in-position to make the tackle, but is slow to shed the block and fails to get to the ball carrier, missing his chance to make the stop.

CONCLUSION

Nathaniel Watson is an intriguing prospect with an eventful backstory, experiencing both the highs and lows that could boost his draft stock as well as negatively affect it. The previous arrests as well as his tight hips and lack of coverage upside are concerning, but he also has proven to be quite the playmaker near the line of scrimmage as a downhill thumper and a blitzer of the quarterback.

When coming up with a pro comparison for Watson, K.J. Britt came to mind as another productive player coming out of the SEC at Auburn, getting drafted by the Buccaneers in the fifth round back in 2021. Britt also is an aggressive downhill thumper against the run, but lacks the athleticism and spatial awareness to be effective in coverage. He’s mostly been a special teamer with the Bucs while seeing some spot starts this past season on early downs, a similar role I foresee Watson having at the next level.

The Steelers could use more playmaking at their inside linebacker position, getting a player in Watson that is similar to Britt as well as former Steeler Vince Williams. Still, the age, limited coverage ability and off-the-field concerns may keep Watson from being in consideration later in the draft. He did have an informal meeting with the Steelers at the Combine, and spoke to them at the Senior Bowl, suggesting they are doing their due diligence on the decorated linebacker.

Projection: Day 3
Depot Draft Grade: 7.0 OFF- Backup/Special Teamer (5th Round)
Games Watched: at Ole Miss (2023), vs LSU (2023), vs Alabama (2023)