Steelers 2024 Rookie Review: Round 6, S, Ryan Watts
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team who loves to build their team from the ground up. In other words, they’ve always been a team who loves to build through the draft, instead of finding players on the open market via free agency. With the 2024 season now officially over, it is the perfect time of year to take a look back at the past season’s rookie class.
Who were the impact players, and who were those who left plenty to be desired? Let’s get the recap started…
Player: Ryan Watts
Position: Safety
Drafted: Round 6 (195th Pick)
2024 Statistics:
Games Played: 0
Recap: When you are talking about a 6th Round draft pick in any draft, you don’t heap high expectations on them. Sure, there are the Antonio Browns and Tom Bradys of the world who were drafted in that round, but those are absolutely the rarity, not the norm.
Ryan Watts was a player who most fans didn’t expect much out of, but he played well in the preseason making fans think he could be a depth piece in the 2024 secondary. A neck injury in the preseason finale vs. the Detroit Lions put his status for the season in jeopardy. Watts landed on IR after his “neck injury”, as Mike Tomlin labeled it after the game, and the injury turned out to be far more significant than anyone ever anticipated.
According to Watts’ social media accounts, he underwent surgery to address a “significant” neck injury. When you see the significance of the injury, you have to ask questions about Watts’ future in the game of football. There are times like this when you hope a player is able to return to a stable state of life, and not so much his future within the organization. Football becomes secondary in this regard, and the hope is Watts is able to make a full recovery.
If Watts is able to make a full recovery and return to the team, he could be a valuable piece in the secondary, a position in need of quality depth, but counting on that to come to fruition might be a bit hasty at this point and time.
2024 Steelers NFL Draft Recaps
Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the rest of the offseason.
Any info on what the injury and or procedure was? Jack Eichel has done pretty well with a disc replacement, but there are a myriad of factors at play. Hope the kid’s not permanently injured.
I haven’t heard any specifics. What was weird was he was labeled as a stinger/neck injury. As you an see by the image in the article, he was even able to walk off the field. Offseason neck surgery is never a good thing though…