*****The Armani Watts Thread*****

[Dante84]

More to come...

Overview
Watts is a four-year starter for the Aggies, living up to the four-star recruiting status that accompanied him to A&M (he had nine interceptions as a high school senior to earn first-team Class 4A All-State notice in Forney, Texas). He led the team with three interceptions as a true freshman free safety in 2014, recording 59 tackles, two for loss, and nine pass breakups. Watts put up 126 tackles in 13 starts in his second year on the team, six of them going for losses, and he intercepted one pass while breaking up two others. Watts' junior campaign was cut short by a leg injury, but he still made 56 tackles, six for loss, two interceptions and two forced fumbles in nine starts. He earned third-team Associated Press All-American and second-team All-SEC honors in 2017, starting 12 games, posting 87 tackles, 10 for loss, four interceptions, five pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, and two blocked kicks.

Watts is a feast or famine player whose biggest faults are often self-inflicted and not due to a lack of talent or athletic ability. He's smooth and athletic and plays with the instincts and ball skills to flip the field on the next level. Watts' success as a professional will likely depend on work ethic and consistency as a tackler.

Strengths

• Very impressive athletic ability
• Loose and flexible through lower body with ability to swivel and swerve around the field
• Possesses above-average cover skills and soft hands
• Has feet and fluidity to line up in man
• Plays with instincts and timing
• Recognizes opportunities to undercut routes and make plays on the ball
• Has twitchy burst to break on throws
• Anticipates and triggers to make plays outside of his coverage area
• Good leaper with high-point ability
• Rangy
• Slick with ability to dart into crevices and find tackle angles near the line of scrimmage
• Has striking ability
• Able to blow up screen passes with downhill quickness

Weaknesses

• Lacking ideal size and build
• Has missed games on three different occasions
• Too many feast or famine plays
• Inconsistent and not always trust-worthy in run support
• Loses leverage in pursuit and overruns the play
• Picks and chooses when to square up and tackle with technique
• Will opt for ankle-diving too frequently
• Urgency in pursuit is lacking from the backside
• Inconsistency at finishing plays costs his defense at times
• Gets caught guessing on routes

[thegame214]

Solid pick.

[RealSNR]

Ran a 4.6? Slow ass mother****er.

(Just kidding. I really like this pick)

[staylor26]

**** yea

Easily my favorite pick of the draft

[thegame214]

Originally Posted by staylor26

**** yea

Easily my favorite pick of the draft

He's a playmaker

[YayMike]

Originally Posted by thegame214

He's a playmaker

Yes! And a day 1 starter. I really like how this draft has played out.

[TwistedChief]

Originally Posted by YayMike

Yes! And a day 1 starter. I really like how this draft has played out.

Yup, there’s a clear purpose and vision at work here. Veach is trying to completely change our defensive attitude. It seems like they’ve pegged that as the issue last year instead of Sutton’s scheme/playcalling.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by TwistedChief

Yup, there’s a clear purpose and vision at work here. Veach is trying to completely change our defensive attitude. It seems like they’ve pegged that as the issue last year instead of Sutton’s scheme/playcalling.

Big hitters.

[Red Dawg]

He may be a day one starter. We have garbage next to Berry.

[FD]

Originally Posted by Red Dawg

He may be a day one starter. We have garbage next to Berry.

God help us if this is true. This guy is blown-coverage waiting to happen. Hopefully if he can't find an instinct for coverage, coaches can help him develop a more risk-averse playing style.

[wheeler08]

Did we trade up again?

[cmh6476]

Moar defense yes!

[Simply Red]

worth mentioning he's under 5' 11"? Some listings show him at 5' 11" but a lot are saying 5' 10" and change....

[thegame214]

He's a guy with so much raw potential that learning from Eric Berry is going to so valuable

[stumppy]

Damn nice tape.