For many NFL players, the preseason is about making your case to make the 53-man roster. For Kansas City Chiefs WR Justin Watson, it was an opportunity to showcase all of the hard work he’d been putting in at training camp and during the offseason.
A former fifth-round draft pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018, the 26-year-old Watson has been a bit of a surprise this offseason. When Watson showed up for offseason workouts in Texas, his quarterback was surprised by his speed. The story has been the same at St. Joseph for training camp, where Watson has continued to have strong showings.
“Since I’ve got here it’s been fun learning this offense,” Watson told reporters after the game “I’ve done a lot of good things in practice, but you just want to show up in the game. It’s the first time that it’s on TV, that everyone is seeing it all across the league. I was happy to go out there and put up a good performance. The first time that fans were seeing it — anyone that wasn’t able to come to St. Joe’s. Just anytime you put that Chiefs jersey on, you want to represent it well and play well. I was happy that we could do that today.”
The former University of Pennsylvania star represented the jersey very well against the Bears. He recorded five receptions on six targets for 45 yards and a score. It was the top performance by a Chiefs receiver on the day.
The touchdown came on a play that was a bit of a risk from quarterback Shane Buechele. Patrick Mahomes was saying on the sideline that Buechele should take the underneath route and just move the sticks. Instead, Buechele gave Watson a shot to make a play with a window throw on a risky down-and-distance.
“Big-time props to Shane (Buechele),” Watson said of the play. “We had a call, it was third-and-4 and we had two five-yard routes on the outside, but Shane saw it was two-high, split safeties, and saw that void in the middle there, so he yelled out to me for me to run that post route, kind of audibled it. So like you said, take a shot on third-and-4 into the endzone when you have two five-yard routes underneath. It takes some moxie, but man, he delivered a strike. Great play, great adjustment, and great all-around play by Shane.”
Watson didn’t even know that he’d be in the position to make such a play or have such a performance on Sunday. The plan for the game was really flexible, which is something he has a sense he’ll have to get used to, should he make the 53-man roster.
“No, I wasn’t sure,” Watson said. “We had a feel for, this was going to be the first 15 plays. We weren’t sure how many plays that first group was going to get at receiver. So, just kind of being fluid, that’s probably what this year will be for me. Supporting those guys — MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling), Juju (Smith-Schuster), Mecole (Hardman) — just anytime my number is called on. Be there, be in the right spot and make a catch. I feel like at this point, you can put me in the first quarter, second quarter, third quarter. We could line up in St. Joe’s, in Chicago, anywhere, anytime — I’m ready to make a play for these guys at quarterback.”
The willingness and ability to come in off the bench and make plays on offense at a moment’s notice should increase Watson’s value. When you consider that he also factors in as a multi-phase special teamer, his case to make the roster is as strong as ever. With four practices at training camp and two preseason games left to go, all he has to prove is that he can keep it up.
