With James Pearce Jr.'s legal situation up in the air, Xavier Watts has been the crown jewel of the Atlanta Falcons' 2025 NFL Draft class. The Pearce trade was the reason they were able to take him in the first place, so even if it feels like a mistake, at least the Falcons got something out of the Pearce deal.
But what if they didn't? In a new 2025 re-draft from The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner, Watts didn't end up in Atlanta, but remained in the NFC South as he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 19th pick. And coincidentally, the Falcons drafted a former Buc at pick 15 in WR Emeka Egbuka.
Given how much their fates have been intertwined over the years, it's only right that it stays that way in this new re-draft. The Dirty Birds knocked their NFC South rivals out of the playoffs in Week 18, and Baker Mayfield went in on Kevin Stefanski, this alternate outcome would fan the flames of the Falcons-Bucs rivalry.
The Falcons swap Xavier Watts for Emeka Egbuka in The Athletic re-draft
Baumgardner noted he probably would have made Pearce the pick at 15 over Egbuka (and Walker) if not for his arrest, but there's no complaints here. As for the 26th pick, it remained in the possession of the Los Angeles Rams, who coincidentally selected Kevin Stefanski's darling TE Harold Fannin Jr.
Egbuka enjoyed a promising rookie season in Tampa Bay, but was negatively affected by some offensive issues that plagued the Bucs down the stretch. Yet he still recorded over 900 receiving yards and six scores, which he technically accomplished in a complimentary role for the Bucs.
Unfortunately, this means the Dirty Birds missed on on not one, but two Defensive Rookie of the Year finalists, but the offense is much better off. Atlanta's biggest issue on offense was their lack of WR depth around Drake London, and Egbuka would've been the perfect complement in the pass game.
Egbuka torched the Falcons for two receiving TDs in his NFL debut, so even though he cooled down from there, he has the speed and route-running ability to give Atlanta's offense the vertical element it lacked opposite London. And he would've made an elite offense even more of a matchup nightmare.
With Mike Evans now in San Francisco, the 23-year-old is now slated to become Tampa Bay's new long-term WR1-- especially with Chris Godwin on the wrong side of 30. And with how much Mayfield has raved about him, I'm confident that he would've done just as much damage with Michael Penix Jr.
Losing Watts to a division rival in this scenario is a bummer, especially after his five-pick rookie season, especially since he would join forces with Antoine Winfield Jr. in Tampa. But thankfully, Jessie Bates isn't going anywhere and this alternate reality is exactly that: not real.
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