The pick is in.
The 2024 NFL Draft marks Omar Khan’s second year as the Steelers’ general manager and like in past years we evaluate the value of each pick. Based on projections for each player by draft outlets as well as our own reports we want to see if the pick’s value is above or below how they were ranked coming into the draft.
Round 6 (Pick 195) – Ryan Watts DB Texas
Unless they trade back into the draft, with their final pick of the 2024 NFL Draft the Steelers addressed the defensive back position. Ryan Watts is another player they had on their radar. For the pick, he was listed as a cornerback but could play some safety as well.
Lance Zierlein’s profile of him at NFL.com gave him a 5.87 grade (Average Backup Or Special-Teamer). He opined, “Based purely on the cornerback tape, it would be easy to dismiss Watts as an NFL prospect, but once we fit the pieces together and project him as a safety, it changes the evaluation. Watts simply doesn’t have the quickness and agility to stay at cornerback with much success in man coverage. However, he’s already built like a safety and possesses tremendous length with a willingness to lean into the aggression for the position change. Watts’ measurables and demeanor will work in his favor, but his impressive NFL Scouting Combine testing should create additional push for his draft stock and chances of becoming a backup safety with core special teams value.”
Dane Brugler had Watts listed 254th overall in his Top 300. In his draft guide, The Beast, he listed him as the No. 20 safety overall and he has this to say, “A two-year starter at Texas, Watts was an outside cornerback in defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski’s 4-3 base scheme and quarters-based coverage. After two seasons as an Ohio State reserve, he earned a starting role the past two seasons for the Longhorns but returned mixed results. Though he has the length to match up with size in press, he gets leggy in his transitions and struggles to stay connected on the outside (73.5 percent of his targets in 2023 resulted in a completion). His athletic twitch on the field doesn’t match what’s suggested in his testing numbers. When his eyes stay on time, however, he flashes burst and strong tackling skills on plays in front of him. Overall, Watts has elite size and an outstanding athletic profile, but undisciplined tendencies in his coverage likely will push him to safety in the NFL (he saw safety reps during East-West Shrine Bowl practices). His special-teams potential could help keep him on an NFL roster during his likely position change.”
CBSSports.com had Watts as the 216th player on its board and the 37th cornerback. “Ryan Watts is a huge, supremely long outside CB. Essentially classic safety size. Speed is below average by NFL standards but can get his hands on the football when most CBs wouldn’t because of his ridiculous length. Not a twitched-up freaky athlete but certainly not stiff getting vertical with WRs, reasonable bounce off the snap and can turn and run from press. Although not overly physical there, could use his length better at the line. Although often was used his press bail and zone, and has the ideal skill set for those type of responsibilities. Explosive from his backpedal and when planting and driving, and a minor indication of stiffness when changing directions laterally. One of the better, more reliable tacklers in the class with the largest tackling radius in the class. Reasonably active against the run and will battle against WR screens. One of the most unique CBs in the class because of his immense length and surprisingly bendy athletic style. Because his mirroring can lack at times, he may have a future at safety, where his straight-line speed, leaping ability, could be more accentuated. Ball skills aren’t where they need to be right now but not someone unaware when the ball is arriving in most occasions.”
The 33rd Team’s scouting report for Watts by Jared Maslin had this to say, “Ryan Watts projects as a backup SS at the next level. He’s a former boundary corner with a safety mentality. He could get a shot to stick at corner but would likely only excel in press and primarily in a Cover 2. With his size, he should be able to press tight ends in the slot and limit mismatches. For a safety, his ball skills are sufficient, but he needs to do a better job getting his head around as the ball approaches. Watts is physical and isn’t afraid to support the run or deliver a blow on contact. He’s also able to easily discard stalk blocks to make plays on ball carriers. He’s also a strong, sure tackler. It’ll take a little time to learn the position, but he’s already got the mentality for it. On 3rd downs, playing a zone near the LOS or manning up TEs will get the most out of him. With his play style, he should be a very good special teamer.”
Our profile on Watts by Josh Carney gave him an 6.7 grade (Backup/Special Teamer – 5th Round). He analyzed his play by saying, “After watching Watts up close and in person at the Shrine Bowl in Dallas in January, I was a bit underwhelmed, especially with his move to safety. But then, when I put on his tape at Texas last season, I came away rather intrigued. He has great size for the cornerback position and could without a doubt handle an every-down role as a box safety in the NFL. He tested off the charts for his size, too, earning a 9.84 RAS from Kent Lee Platte.
The concerns with the long speed at corner and the struggles to find and track the ball in the air in coverage are real, but his physicality, length and experience at two major programs are very intriguing overall and warrant a flyer on Day 3 of the NFL draft. At worst, he’s a longer-term special teams contributor who can provide depth in the secondary.”
Overall, Watts is a good athlete and will probably be tried at corner and safety in the preseason. If he makes the team, he will also have a role on special teams. Drafting in the later rounds, you’re looking for someone to fill a role on your squad, and Watts’ athleticism gives him a good chance. Based on the evaluations, he was drafted right where he was expected giving this pick solid value.
