It might have been the last pick of the 2024 NFL Draft for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the selection of Texas defensive back Ryan Watts with the No. 195 overall pick might be the most intriguing one.
Watts, who competed in the 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl after two years at Texas, was a player the Steelers had their eye on throughout the pre-draft process, holding a formal meeting with him at the Combine.
Two months later, he’s a Steeler.
While he wasn’t a pre-draft visitor, he checks a lot of boxes for head coach Mike Tomlin.
Speaking with reporters Saturday following the Steelers’ final pick, Tomlin stated that Watts’ body of work and his overall play style attracted the Steelers to him.
“Just his body of work. He’s a long guy. He runs well, and he’s got position flexibility,” Tomlin said in regards to what attracted the Steelers to Watts. “He plays with an edge, and so those are some of the real tangible reasons why.”
That checks out on tape with Watts.
The Texas product has great size and length for the position at 6027, 208 pounds, with 34.5-inch arms. The versatility he brings to the secondary is very intriguing, too, especially after he tested off the charts for his size, garnering a 9.64 Relative Athletic Score.
Watts started his career at Ohio State, spending two years in Columbus before transferring back home to Texas, landing with the Longhorns for his last two seasons.
During his time in Texas, he earned All-Big 12 academic accolades each season and was named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2022, showing how smart of a person and player he is. Based on the way the Steelers have valued size, length and physicality in the secondary in recent years, he profiled as a strong fit for Pittsburgh.
In my scouting report for Steelers Depot in early April, I had this to say about the Texas defensive back.
“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 the 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.
“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.”
There are some questions regarding his true role at the NFL level, whether he’s a boundary corner, big nickel, or safety. But there is no denying that he’s a strong fit for the Steelers from a size and physicality perspective.
