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When the Kansas City Chiefs first signed wide receiver Justin Watson to a futures deal in February of 2022, the move flew way under the radar.
Many didn’t think the 6-foot-2 pass-catcher would make the Week 1 roster, let alone appear in all 17 games in 2022 — starting five of them. With the help of Watson, the Chiefs won a Super Bowl during his first season with the team and before long, he started to get some attention from both the organization and the media.
KC general manager Brett Veach decided to re-sign the role player to a two-year contract ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, awarding him $1.08 million in guaranteed money. Now, on June 22, Sports Illustrated NFL writer Conor Orr showed Watson some rare praise by labeling him the Chiefs “most underrated” player heading into the 2023 campaign.
NFL Analyst Credits Chiefs WR Justin Watson as ‘Great Space Creator’ on Offense
Orr’s selection was somewhat unexpected, considering he picked bigger names for other AFC franchises. Generally, Watson doesn’t get this sort of hype, but Orr’s reasoning backed up his choice very wisely for readers.
“Only two Chiefs wide receivers played more snaps than Justin Watson last year,” he wrote. “Some people may call this evidence of an underwhelming receiving corps, but I strongly disagree.”
“I think Kansas City’s receiving corps is full of stylistic complements; all different body types and expertise that help Andy Reid manipulate the offense however he sees fit,” Orr went on. “Watson plays a part in that. He is also a great space creator, a player who seems to understand the offense well and can run routes in a way that clears out space or moves certain defenders.”
Orr even provided a prime example for fans, stating: “Back in Week 12 [of the 2022 season], he was matched up pretty frequently on Jalen Ramsey early in the game and would keep him isolated on one side of the field.”
Chiefs’ Justin Watson Finished 5th in KC Receiving Yards in 2022, 3rd for WRs
Only four Kansas City players had more receiving yards than Watson in 2022 — tight end Travis Kelce, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and running back Jerick McKinnon. That puts him third for the wide receiver position behind Smith-Schuster and “MVS.”
The former is no longer with the franchise, leaving Watson behind only Valdes-Scantling in terms of production for the current KC WR corps.
His 315 receiving yards last year may not have been anything outrageous, but Watson is playing the role that fans have dreamt of Justyn or John Ross taking on — and he’s doing it well. The former fifth-round selection of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had 21 yards per catch in 2022, with two touchdowns and 12 first downs.
One area Watson could improve is catch rate, however, with a low 44.1% mark with the Chiefs. That included a career-high five drops — an ugly number for any wide receiver.
It should be noted that Watson had only dropped one pass during his four seasons in Tampa Bay, albeit in a much lesser role. The 2023 campaign should be a good judge for Kansas City as they try and figure out whether or not they’d prefer to cut ties with Watson next offseason.
He’s guaranteed no money in year two of his contract, providing KC with a clear “out” should they need it. If they decide to keep Watson for the 2024 season, it would be relatively cheap — at a base salary of $1.47 million and a cap hit of $2.15 million.
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