Nathaniel

Watson

A former three-star recruit, Watson (6’/233) posted impressive numbers during the 2023 season, earning him third team All-American honors and a coveted invite to the Senior Bowl. Finishing with 137 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks. The SEC Defensive Player of the Year posted 46 stops and a solid 70.6 PFF run defense grade during his final season with the Bulldogs. His standout final campaign is insured by a similarly impressive 2022 season in which he finished with 113 total tackles and 49 stops. The MLB prospect is a middling athlete with an ideal size profile and solid 4.63s 40-time but poor agility and explosion scores for a pedestrian 5.03 RAS. Watson’s athletic tradeoffs are reflected in his style of play. In pass coverage, he is unable to keep up with skill players and has limited awareness in zone. While he won’t be a nickel linebacker, he should have no problem stuffing the run at the NFL level. A quick processor when diagnosing the run, Watson uses his hands to stay off blocks and has proven to be an elite tackler throughout his collegiate career. His advanced age and production project him as a third or fourth linebacker who will fight for snaps on early downs.

Watson (6'3/200) signed with Mississippi State at the beginning of the month, but there’s now been major complication. He was arrested on Friday in Maplesville, Alabama, after being involved in what the police report describes as a drag race with a high school classmate. According to the authorities, the race “ended” after Watson was forced to swerve to avoid an oncoming vehicle, at which point he lost control of the wheel and crashed into a power pole, cutting it in half and shorting out power to parts of town in the process. Yikes. Making matters worse, Watson had a passenger in his car and that passenger sustained injury serious enough to require an airlifting to the hospital. All of this has resulted in multiple charges against the three-star athlete, the most major of which is being reported as a first-degree assault charge, a felony. Mississippi State has issued a “no comment at this time” statement on the unfortunate incident.