ESPN predicts huge honor for Falcons defender

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ESPN predicts huge honor for Falcons defender

ESPN predicts huge honor for Falcons defender

Tim Weaver, Falcons Wire · Falcons Wire

Mon, Sep 7, 2026 ·

2 min read

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The Atlanta Falcons have finally named their starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers . As expected, it's Tua Tagovailoa - even though the job is basically his by default because Michael Penix still isn't ready for game action. There are two other options on the roster, which speaks to how bad things are.

The QB situation is a bummer, but if you're a Falcons fan looking for reasons to be excited about this coming season, the back end of Jeff Ulbrich's defense is a great place to start.

Atlanta's cornerback room is solid if not spectacular, and should only get better with the addition of rookie Avieon Terrell. Meanwhile, the safety room is truly special - with one established star in Jessie Bates III and one up-and-comer in Xavier Watts , who's coming off a very impressive rookie season.

Just how much better Watts can get is anybody's guess, but at least one analyst thinks he has All-Pro potential. Here's Seth Walder at ESPN predicting a big award for Watts at year's end.

"Bold prediction for 2026: Safety Xavier Watts will be a first- or second-team All-Pro. A 2025 third-round pick, Watts had an impressive rookie season in which he recorded five interceptions. If he builds on that, he'll start to be considered among the league's top safeties."

Watts has tons of competition for that honor, including Kyle Hamilton , Xavier McKinney , Antoine Winfield Jr. , Brian Branch and fellow fast-riser Nick Emmanwori from Seattle . That said, we're definitely not betting against him.

Watts allowed six touchdowns in coverage as a rookie, but he also posted five interceptions and and 11 passes defensed total, bringing his passer rating allowed down to just 89.7. He also missed just nine tackles (8.6%), which is pretty solid for a rookie DB.

If Watts can just improve his run defense ( he earned a 68.7 grade from PFF in 2025 ) there won't be anything left for him to learn and the sky will be the limit for what he can achieve.