Jessie Bates is one of the most highly decorated safeties in the NFL, so it’s no surprise he was once again in 2025 even if his play dropped off a bit. Xavier Watts was a touted safety prospect, but he still managed to surprise en route to a compelling rookie campaign.
Safety was a story of two very good starters and depth that was largely mothballed in 2025. Adding improved depth in 2026 is going to be key, but the Falcons have one really good starter for a long time and one really good starter for at least one more season. Let’s dive into the review.
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Jessie Bates
This was Bates’ worst season in Atlanta, and he was still a very good safety. Like Chris Lindstrom, there’s a lot of room to fall to have a bad year.
Most of the problem came in coverage, where Bates tied his career single season high for touchdowns allowed (4), set a new Falcons season high in yardage allowed by over 100 yards, and had his lowest interception and pass deflection total since arriving in Atlanta. Those coverage pullbacks were noticeable on a handful of big plays in particular, with Bates out of position in a way that proved to be a problem, but the week-to-week, play-to-play level was not noticeably worse than a year ago.
For all that, his coverage still wasn’t terrible, and his run defense and well-timed big plays were still top-tier offerings that remind us how good Bates is and can be. We know that coverage grades and success can vary year-to-year, and I did not see any signs that Bates is falling off heading into his age 30 season. If he makes a handful of additional big plays in coverage this coming season, he’ll be back in the elite territory he’s occupied for years now; if he doesn’t, he’s still an above average starting safety on a defense that heavily relies on its safeties.
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Xavier Watts
I had high hopes for Watts, but he was better than I would have anticipated. Teams tried to go after him at times and had less and less success as the season went on, with Watts allowing two of four targets from Matthew Stafford to be completed in Week 17 for 54 yards and a touchdown…and the other two passes being interceptions.
And that’s where Watts was a huge difference maker: His playmaking ability in coverage. He had a team-high five interceptions, four pass deflections, and impressive instincts in coverage that allowed him to snuff out routes and smother open receiving options with just one penalty on the year. Watts can get even better in this regard, but we should not lose sight of the fact that his rookie year production was incredibly impressive.
He’s not quite at the level of Bates as a run defender, but he also played above expectations closer to the line of scrimmage and kept a low missed tackle rate all year. It’s too early to say this, but nobody should be surprised if Watts is considered one of the league’s elite safety options heading into 2027.
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DeMarcco Hellams
He played just 13 snaps in 2025, leaving his future with the team unclear despite his consistently strong work on special teams. I like Hellams’ physicality and thought his coverage was better than advertised in 2023, but that was two defensive coordinators and two head coaches ago now, so we’ll have to see if he can get more playing time in the final year of his rookie deal.
Jordan Fuller
Fuller’s season was fairly bewildering. He was coming off a tough year with Carolina, but was familiar with Raheem Morris from their shared time with the Rams and had plenty of starting experience. Once he was beaten out for the starting role by Xavier Watts—the right choice, obviously—he was effectively mothballed, appearing in six games with one start and getting cut before the season was over. The past two seasons tell me he’ll have to catch on as a reserve somewhere, and it may not be a reunion with Morris.
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Jammie Robinson
In limited chances, Robinson looked like a quality reserve safety and special teamer, particularly the latter. I’d be happy to see him return.
Outlook: Very good
If all the Falcons do is resign Jammie Robinson to go with Bates, Watts, and Hellams, they have an excellent safety group. If they further upgrade their depth, their unit is going to have a real case as the best in the NFL.
It’s nice to have a position group with very few problems, and that’s what the Falcons have. I would be comfortable with Hellams stepping in for several games if needed, and I’m very comfortable with Robinson returning as a special teamer who can fill in if there’s a dire emergency. More than that, Watts and Bates is one of the better starting safety tandems in the NFL, and Watts can get much better than the already quality level of play he had in year one. Aside from boosting the depth with an eye on potentially replacing Bates in a year or two, I wouldn’t touch this group.
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