Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Profile- Ryan Watts

Name- Ryan Watts

Position- Cornerback

Height- 6’2 ⅞ ”

Weight- 200 lbs

Team- Texas

Drafted- 6th round (195th pick by Steelers)

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected cornerback Ryan Watts in the 6th round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Texas. Ryan Watts’s story began at Elm High School in Texas. He was an impressive two-way player who earned a four star rating from ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports. He chose Ohio State over a long list of P5 football offers.

He played his freshman season at Ohio State, playing in 7 games. During his sophomore season he saw his playing time increase and played 12 games for the Buckeyes. That off-season he decided to transfer to Texas. He went on to start 24 games for the Longhorns in his two seasons. In 2023, he started 10 games and tallied 38 tackles, 1TFL, and 3 pass breakups.

Watts waited a long time to hear his name called in the 2024 Draft, but when it finally did, he didn’t mince words on how he felt.

“Yes sir, I’m good. I’m ready to go right now, Coach,” Watts told Mike Tomlin, who called him with the news. “You got a pissed-off player.”

Watts has played cornerback his whole career but could be moved to safety. He is just under 6’3” and had the longest arms of any cornerback on the roster. The Steelers need depth in their secondary and if he can bring some versatility to it, that is a plus. He may have to show some special teams skills to help his cause, but one thing is for sure Watts is focused on what he is going to do. 

Watts left the Steeler fans a message.

 “Steelers Nation, I want ya’ll to know you’ll get the best out of me. Everyday. And I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity. Every day, I am going to be putting the odds to the test, believe that.”

Here is a look at Draft Nation’s scouting report on Ryan Watts:

Strengths

• Fluid Movement
• Ball Tracking
• Run-Stopping Ability
• Quickness

Watts is a fluid athlete with quick feet. He has good ball tracking ability downfield which helps him break up passes and create turnovers. He is also versatile due to his above average physicality and run-stopping ability from the corner position. He has long arms and a big frame to be disruptive in the passing game.

Weaknesses

• Lower Body Mechanics
• Reads
• Route Recognition

His lower body mechanics are inconsistent as he struggles at times with breaking out of his backpedal and getting his hips around. He relies on his speed too much to recover from these missteps. He also makes shaky reads and will need to improve route recognition to be more consistent.