The Pittsburgh Steelers needed defensive back help, and with their final pick of the draft, they got it by drafting Texas DB Ryan Watts. Watts fits the mold of a Steelers cornerback under general manager Omar Khan as he stands at 6’2 and weighs 208 pounds.
It is unknown whether Watts stays at cornerback or moves to safety, but one person who is a fan of Watts is NFL Networks, Bucky Brooks. On NFL.com, he reacted to the pick, calling Watts a show pony.
“Height, weight, speed, long arms; looks the part,” said Brooks. “As they would say in scouting parlance, he is a show pony. When you see him on the hoof, he looks exactly how you want him. He is a cutout for how you want your corners to look like. This dude, 6’2, over 200 pounds, can play corner, can play safety, has some versatility. And for him to go to the Pittsburgh Steelers, it makes a lot of sense because the Steelers prefer guys to have a lot of those core traits at the position.”
Like Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr., Ryan Watts is long and physical with 34 1/2-inch arms. It is what the Steelers want so it makes sense they drafted him and are taking a chance in the sixth round. Watts’ stats are not groundbreaking, making 38 tackles and breaking up three passes last year, but when you have the size and length that Watts has, it is worth taking a shot with him.
As Brooks said, Watts’ physical traits are the center of attention. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is not afraid of coaching players, and you can teach technique. What you can’t teach is size and length, and that is what Watts has, which is why a sixth-round pick on him makes sense.
Due to Ryan Watts’ size and slower speed (running a 4.53 40-yard dash), it is very unlikely he will play slot corner, a position Pittsburgh still needs help with. Due to his below-average speed, he could shift to safety, but that is something to see come training camp.
For now, though, the Steelers are betting on his upside due to his physical traits. We will see if it pays off, but for a sixth-round pick, it is certainly worth it. This pick kind of feels like Trice last year. Trice had injury concerns and was not the fastest, but had the size and length. Trice unfortunately got hurt early in training camp, but reports were positive on him before the injury. Due to that, it makes sense to go back to a similar well for a late-round defensive back.
