#14

Nathaniel Watson

Former linebacker at Mississippi State. 2023: 137 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 10 sacks.

LB · Mississippi State · Sr. · #14

6′2″ · 245 lb · Maplesville, AL

CFB Index 95 · #4 of 577 LBsHigh confidenceAll-Conf 1st teamCleveland — drafted 2024, Rd 6, Pick 30, #206 overall

Recruiting

3★

ATH recruit

No. 664 nationally · Signed with Mississippi State

Statement game21 tackles · 0.5 TFLvs Ole Miss (FBS) · L 7-17

Top 0.1% tackles game since 2021.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

Former linebacker at Mississippi State. 2023: 137 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 10 sacks.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Mississippi State in 2018.
Drafted round 6 by the Cleveland in 2024.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Six seasons at Mississippi State, 373 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2023) — drafted at #206 overall by Cleveland.

His career

Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.

2018

Signed with Mississippi State3-star out of Maplesville

202213 games

The role got bigger.

All-SECsecond

202312 games

All-SECfirst

2024

Drafted by Clevelandround 6, pick 206

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#664 national

CFB

College

Mississippi State

2018–2023

NFL

NFL Draft

R6 · #206

Cleveland · 2024

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

2 honors · 1 category

🥈

ALL-SEC · 1ST TEAM

All-SEC 1st team (2023)

Coaching lineage · 2018–2023

3 coaches

2018–2019

Joe Moorhead

Mississippi State

2020–2022

Mike Leach

Mississippi State

era →

2023

Greg Knox

Mississippi State

era →

Played under 3 different head coaches: Joe Moorhead, Mike Leach, and Greg Knox. Multi-era developmental context.

Where He Ended Up · NFL

ClevelandEntering 3rd NFL season

#206Rd 6 · Pick 30

ClevelandEntering 3rd NFL season

View college career stats ↓

2023 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2018Mississippi State8-5HC: Joe Moorhead · Run-heavy

2019Mississippi State6-7HC: Joe Moorhead · Run-heavy

2020Mississippi State4-7HC: Mike Leach · Pass-heavy, fast tempo

2021Mississippi State7-6HC: Mike Leach · Pass-heavy, fast tempo

2022Mississippi State9-4HC: Mike Leach · Pass-heavy

2023Mississippi State5-7HC: Greg Knox · Run-leaning, slow tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

95All-America level #4 of 577?

High confidence8 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles (100th percentile). Strength: sacks (100th percentile).

Box-score production (8)

Tackles#7 / 2842 · 100th pct

137

Sacks#10 / 2842 · 100th pct

10.0

Tackles for loss#49 / 2842 · 98th pct

13.0

QB hurries#70 / 2842 · 97th pct

Solo tackles#340 / 2842 · 88th pct

Passes defended#744 / 2842 · 67th pct

Forced fumbles#54 / 710 · 46th pct

Interceptions#323 / 827 · 31st pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2023 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

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

2026 season

Head Coach

Jeff Lebby

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

All-Conference 1st team

First team in his league at the position.

our read the All-Conference 1st team honor is earned — and the box score backs it up emphatically: #4 of 577 FBS linebackers by CFB Index Score.2023 profile

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

95 · #4 of 577 LBs

Three-star recruit. Now #4 at the position.

Career stats

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	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2023

W 31–24

vs Arizona

1 QB HUR · 1 PD · 0 TFL

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 at home.

With W. Rogers — 162 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 84.7 · -15 rush yds (2 car) · J. Marks — 123 rush yds (24 car) · 1 TD

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

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 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 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 Ole Miss	21	2	0.5	0.0	—	0
Total		137	35	13.0	10.0	1	2

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Nathaniel Watson

2018

202213 games

202312 games

2024

2023 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

All-Conference 1st team

Career stats

Signature game

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Thumper

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