When Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson went down with a broken fibula in Week 7, many anticipated he would miss the entire season.
The team has removed Watson from the Injured Reserve on Friday and opened up his practice window, setting the stage for the talented young defender to return for Kansas City’s playoff run.
Jaylen Watson has been pushing very hard behind the scenes with the Chiefs training staff to get back on the field for the playoffs,” tweeted FOX NFL Insider Jordan Schultz announcing the news.
Pro Football Focus ranked Watson as the 44th-best cornerback in the league out of 219 qualified players. Through the first six weeks of the season, he logged 32 tackles and six pass deflections as Kansas City got off to an undefeated start.
He lines up opposite 2023 First-team All-Pro Trent McDuffie to form one of the most dynamic young cornerback groups in the entire NFL. In Watson’s absence, Kansas City turned to fellow youngsters Nazeeh Johnson (started five games) and then Joshua Williams (also started five games).
Could legitimately be the biggest news of the season,” tweeted FOX Sports personality and noted Chiefs fan Nick Wright. “When Jaylen Watson plays over the past 2 years, KC has the best defense in the NFL, hands down.”
Watson was a seventh-round pick by Kansas City out of Washington State in 2022. He played in 16 games each of his first two seasons and helped the Chiefs win consecutive Super Bowls.
The cornerback recorded a pair of interceptions in the 2022 playoffs: one against Trevor Lawerence in the Divisional Round and another off Joe Burrow in the tightly-contested AFC Championship game. Watson is one of a series of late-round success stories for Kansas City over the last decade, starting with the shrewd selection of receiver Tyreek Hill in the fifth round of the 2016 draft.
The Chiefs selected cornerback L’Jaerious Sneed in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Pro Bowl offensive lineman Trey Smith in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and starting running back Isiah Pacheco also in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Kansas City will rest the majority of their starters, including Watson, in a Week 18 road game against the Denver Broncos with the team having already clinched a first-round bye.
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