Nathaniel Watson: LB · Mississippi State · #14.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Nathaniel Watson
Fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge. Played for three head coaches in six seasons at Mississippi State. Named All-SEC two seasons running, most recently in 2023. One game to point at: 21 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against Ole Miss — Week 13, 2023.
Play style
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
137 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 13 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
The Clarion-Ledger Oct 17Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Mississippi State | 137 | 35 | 13.0 | 10.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2022 | Mississippi State | 109 | 50 | 12.0 | 6.0 | -- | 1 |
| 2021 | Mississippi State | 83 | 33 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2020 | Mississippi State | 39 | 15 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2019 | Mississippi State | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2018 | Mississippi State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 373 | 136 | 35.0 | 21.0 | 4 | 2 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 48-7vs SE Louisiana | 8 | 3 | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 31-24vs Arizona | 10 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | L 14-41vs No. 14 LSU | 13 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 30-37@ South Carolina | 5 | 5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 17-40vs No. 12 Alabama | 12 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 41-28vs Western Michigan | 9 | 2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 8 | W 7-3@ Arkansas | 14 | 5 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 9 | L 13-27@ Auburn | 9 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 3-24vs Kentucky | 7 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 10-51@ Texas A&M | 8 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 41-20vs Southern Miss | 21 | 3 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 21 tackles |
| Wk 13 | L 7-17vs No. 12 Ole Miss | 21 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 137 | 35 | 13.0 | 10.0 | 1 | 2 |
Week 8 · 2023
W 7-3
at Arkansas
2 sacks · 2 tackles for loss · 14 tackles
A close one, won by 4 on the road.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
137tackles this seasonTFL rate
9%13 TFLSack rate
7%10 sacksPD rate
1%2 pass breakups137 tackles · 13 for loss · 10 sacks · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home8g | 12.6 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| Road4g | 9.0 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 9.5 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 13.3 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Greg Knox
Pass share
47.0%
348 pass / 393 run
Plays / game
61.8
12 games
Team sack rate
6.8%
367 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2023
First team in his league at the position.
The All-Conference 1st team honor is earned — and the box score backs it up emphatically: #4 of 577 FBS linebackers by CFB Zeitgeist Score.2023 profile
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #4 at the position.
How it ended
Six seasons at Mississippi State, 373 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2023) — drafted at #206 overall by the Cleveland Browns.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-SEC · 1ST TEAM
All-SEC 1st team (2023)
Coaching lineage · 2018–2023
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Joe Moorhead, Mike Leach, and Zach Arnett. Multi-era developmental context.
Next stop · NFL
Cleveland BrownsEntering 3rd NFL season
Cleveland BrownsEntering 3rd NFL season
