'20 NE WR Xavier Watts (Notre Dame Man)

JerseyIrishMan

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IrishLax said:
This is one of those guys I think you open up the NIL bag to keep. Could offer him more as a 5th year player than he would make in the NFL as a rookie mid-round pick.
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I don't disagree at all - but from XW's perspective, the opportunity cost of delaying his second NFL contract, where if he plays well, the money would far outweigh anything we can offer for one more season... would make it hard to come back. JMO.

He's been betting on himself his entire career in football, with an opportunity to realize his dream and nothing left to prove at the collegiate level from an individual perspective, why put that on pause if there's no guarantee you improve your draft stock? Maybe I'm misinformed and he actually can improve his stock, in which case this is probably more of a consideration. All that said... I think even playing in the bowl game is going above and beyond for ND at this point, an extra season would be a tough sell.

Anyway... I'd sure as hell love to see him playing for the Irish next year.
 
IA4irish

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I seriously love his story, and it’s why I still follow football. Recruited as wide receiver, converted to safety, they thought about switching him back. Absolutely balls out. He’s gone through the stuff with his family. Wins defensive player of the year nationally. Dude that is a Hollywood story line. I will be totally happy for him with whatever he decides. I love watching him play
 
irishandy

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His time at ND reminds me of Avery Davis; without Davis getting the award.

They both switched positions and could've taken the easy way out and transferred.

Watts was fun to watch this season and I hope he comes back next season.
 
GoIrish41

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I’d love to get Watts back next year, but I can’t imagine his star is going to get any brighter than it is right now. I think it would be a mistake to come back as much as I hate to say it.
 
ulukinatme

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irishandy said:
His time at ND reminds me of Avery Davis; without Davis getting the award.

They both switched positions and could've taken the easy way out and transferred.

Watts was fun to watch this season and I hope he comes back next season.
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AD was certainly deserving of the recognition, I think I said as much in his thread.
 
IrishBoognish

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GoIrish41 said:
I’d love to get Watts back next year, but I can’t imagine his star is going to get any brighter than it is right now. I think it would be a mistake to come back as much as I hate to say it.
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Most of the reporters believe there just isn't enough tape on him yet, and while he had an amazing season, more than a few of those interceptions pretty much just fell into his arms. (I understand you have to be in the right place, but I also understand the point.)

He's likely coming back for those reasons and he wants to get a Masters.
 
GoIrish41

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IrishBoognish said:
Most of the reporters believe there just isn't enough tape on him yet, and while he had an amazing season, more than a few of those interceptions pretty much just fell into his arms. (I understand you have to be in the right place, but I also understand the point.)

He's likely coming back for those reasons and he wants to get a Masters.
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Reporters? The boards always have a hint of wishful thinking. Again, I’d love to be wrong but the pragmatist in me says the iron doesn’t get much hotter than defensive player of the year.
 
Veritate Duce Progredi

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GoIrish41 said:
Reporters? The boards always have a hint of wishful thinking. Again, I’d love to be wrong but the pragmatist in me says the iron doesn’t get much hotter than defensive player of the year.
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NFL scouting departments aren't looking up a list of awards to determine which players to select. They are looking at 100s and 1000s of snaps depending on the amount of film and how valuable the pick. Watts has very little tape, he has shown mostly good and some bad in his second season playing safety.

There are plenty of things he could work on to elevate his draft stock. Diagnosing skills, reaction time, missed tackles, etc. His ball skills have been fun to watch this year but as others have stated, a few of those picks were gift-wrapped. Props to Watts for not dropping them and showing his attacking mentality.

He is not a finished product. He could reduce his INTs next year by half and improve his draft stock 2x by simply being in the right place more often. I'm not posting this in hopes of getting him back, I think it's likely the best decision unless the NFL tells him he's a 1st-2nd round pick. If he gets that grade, he should 100% go. I don't think he will and I believe he can take his game up another level or two.
 
IrishBoognish

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GoIrish41 said:
Reporters? The boards always have a hint of wishful thinking. Again, I’d love to be wrong but the pragmatist in me says the iron doesn’t get much hotter than defensive player of the year.
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I never mentioned the message boards. What I mean by reporters are Sampson, Loy, Prister, OMalley and JaimeU.

They say he's likely coming back because the idea is he doesn't have enough film and he wants to get his Masters.
 
dublinirish

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zelezo vlk said:
Confirmed per Wikipedia that he and Joe Alt are both consensus All Americans this year
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i actually had to look this up the other day. So 5 outlets name all americans. to be a consensus AA you need to be picked on 3 and to a unanimous AA you have to be picked by all 5. The last to get all 5 for ND was JOK
 
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