Watts averaged 21 yards per interception returned across his collegiate career. Bowman average 22.8 yards.
This is where Bowman may have an edge over Watts, at least statistically from their college days. Bowman had three pick sixes in 2023, which led the FBS. That's half his interceptions that year.
Bowman took a pick 100 yards to score in Notre Dame's 31-24 win against Brigham Young University, another 45 yards in a 69-45 win against Texas Christian University and another 44 yards in a 50-20 win against Iowa State University,
Watts, meanwhile, returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown last year in a 49-35 win against the University of Southern California in 2024. It was his only pick six.
"The background at receiver," Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said, "not only does he have the awareness and the instinct to trigger and get the ball, but he's got the actual ball skills to make it count and finish."
To be fair, a defensive back having wide receiver history from high school isn't abnormal. For example, each of the three defensive backs drafted in the first round have such experience. Watts is different in that he trained the opposite position for a year at the next level. And Bowman actually enrolled as an athlete rather than defensive or offensive player, leaving the door open for either.
Then, once Watts and Bowman became full-timers in the secondary, they clearly flourished. They kept lessons from the offense on catching and scoring. They learned new ones for the defense, where perhaps the biggest change is turnovers are desired.
"Well, shoot," Hood said. "I don't know if I've ever coached on a defense that didn't emphasize taking the ball away."