Watson is far more valuable to the Chiefs than he is to Fantasy managers. He should be ignored in all Fantasy leagues barring a flurry of injuries or a big shakeup on the Chiefs depth chart.
Chiefs' Justin Watson: Nabs touchdown with lone grab
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Watson caught one of three targets for three yards and one touchdown during Sunday's 31-17 victory against Las Vegas.
Watson scored for a second consecutive week, but it marked his only catch of the day on just three targets, so that still likely isn't enough for him to jump onto the fantasy radar in most formats. He did, however, draw 11 targets last week and has been targeted four times in the red zone in his last three games, so the veteran wideout could be worth a look in really deep formats.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Week 12 Waiver Priority List
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Watson might have had his best and worst game all at once in Week 11 against the Eagles. He had season highs in targets (11) and catches (five). He also scored his first touchdown of the season while posting 53 yards. That's the positive. The negative was a combination of drops and bad routes, and you wonder if that hinders his production moving forward. We know the Chiefs are desperate for playmakers in the passing game, so maybe Watson has some staying power, which is why he's listed here. But he needs to avoid the mistakes to continue earning Patrick Mahomes' trust, and hopefully that happens moving forward. He's worth adding for up to 5 percent of your FAB.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Paces pass catchers in loss
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Watson brought in five of 11 targets for 53 yards and a touchdown in the Chiefs' 21-17 loss to the Eagles on Monday night.
Watson was the surprise leader in receiving yards and targets on the night for the Chiefs, and he rounded out his productive effort by putting the first points of the game on the board via a three-yard touchdown grab in the latter portion of the first quarter. The sixth-year veteran established new career highs in receptions (19), receiving yards (329) and targets (36) with Monday night's production, and he heads into a Week 12 divisional road matchup versus the Raiders boasting a solid 9-110-1 line in his last three contests.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Gets back on board in catch column
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Watson accrued two receptions (on three targets) for 42 yards during Sunday's 24-9 defeat against the Broncos.
Watson missed last week due to an elbow issue and came up empty on his lone target in the team's first meeting with the Broncos in Week 6, but he found his way back into the box score Sunday with a pair of grabs. Watson typically makes the most out of his limited grabs with big gains, averaging 21.8 yards per catch on the year, but he has yet to reach pay dirt and doesn't produce enough to warrant consideration in most fantasy formats.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Logs full practice
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Watson (elbow) was a full practice participant Wednesday, Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com reports.
Watson thus appears ready to return to action for Sunday's game in Denver, though he'll likely be wearing a brace to protect his dislocated elbow. His presence mostly matters for fantasy as it relates to Rashee Rice's snap and route shares, as none of the other Kansas City wideouts have done much of note this season. Rice is coming off his best receiving line of the season in a Week 7 win over the Chargers, so he won't automatically lose playing time now that Watson is available again.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Won't suit up Week 7
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Watson (elbow) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Chargers.
Coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that Watson likely won't have to go on injured reserve, but the wide receiver was never really in contention to suit up Sunday, as he failed to practice in any capacity after sustaining an elbow injury in last Thursday's 19-8 win over Denver. Watson's next chance to suit up will come in a Week 8 rematch with the Broncos.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Sits out practice, IR unlikely
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Watson (elbow) won't practice Wednesday, but head coach Andy Reid doesn't believe the wide receiver will require a stint on injured reserve, Matt McMullen of the Chiefs' official site reports.
Reading between the lines, the fact that an IR stint was on the table suggests that Watson probably won't be available Sunday against the Chargers, though confirmation on his status likely won't come until the release of the team's final Week 7 injury report Friday. Watson injured his left elbow in last Thursday's 19-8 win over the Broncos. The injury was originally thought to be a dislocation but is now being described as a contusion.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Suffers elbow injury
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Watson suffered an elbow injury during Thursday's 19-8 win over the Broncos, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
It's unclear when Watson suffered the injury, though it may have been on a long pass attempt in the fourth quarter, or what the exact nature of the issue may be. Watson was held to only one target with no receptions during the win.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Leads Chiefs wideouts in receiving
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Watson reeled in two of his three targets for 56 yards during Sunday's 27-20 victory versus the Vikings.
Watson didn't play quite as much as he had previously, falling behind both Marquez Valdes-Scantling (65 percent) and Skyy Moore (56 percent) in snap share, but that didn't stop him from turning in his third effort of 50-plus receiving yards through the first five weeks. Watson has proven to be a valuable vertical threat in the passing attack, racking up five catches of 20-plus yards on the season, but he has yet to score a touchdown. The sixth-year wideout doesn't claim a heavy volume of targets, so he can remain off the fantasy radar in most formats.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Leads Chiefs wideouts in snaps
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Watson reeled in his only target for five yards during Sunday's 23-20 victory over the Jets.
Watson claimed the most snaps (43) among wide receivers in the contest, but that did nothing to enhance his fantasy production, as he finished with a season-low one catch and fewer than 40 receiving yards for the first time in 2023. That may be chalked up partially to a stingy Jets secondary, but Watson doesn't produce consistently enough on the regular to warrant consideration in most fantasy formats. Next up is a Minnesota defense that ranks in the bottom third of the league in passing yards per game allowed, so there could be a bounceback opportunity for the aerial attack.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Catches three passes in win
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Watson secured three of his five targets for 62 yards in Sunday's 17-9 win over the Jaguars.
Watson finished second in receiving yards for the second-straight contest, as his 62 yards were just shy of Skyy Moore, who led the team with 70 receiving yards. Patrick Mahomes continued to spread the ball around Sunday, targeting 12 different players over the course of the game. With that said, Watson could struggle to maintain a clear and consistent role in the offense. Through two games, the 27-year-old has earned a solid nine targets, but his snap percentages of 26 percent and 45 percent in Weeks 1 and 2 leave much to be desired. Watson will look to become a more established part of the offense in Week 3 when the Chiefs host the Bears.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Solid showing in Week 1 loss
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Watson brought in two of four targets for 45 yards in the Chiefs' 21-20 loss to the Lions on Thursday night.
Watson checked in second in receiving yards on the night with the help of a 26-yard reception, as Patrick Mahomes spread the ball around generously in the absence of Travis Kelce (knee). The 2018 fifth-round pick of the Buccaneers put up a 15-315-2 line in his debut Chiefs campaign last season, and he's projected for a larger role to some degree in 2023. Watson's target total Thursday tied for second on the night for Kansas City, but it remains to be seen how his opportunities are affected if Kelce returns to action in a Week 2 matchup versus the Jaguars a week from Sunday.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Re-ups with Chiefs
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Kansas City re-signed Watson on a two-year contract Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Watson put together a career-best 15-315-2 receiving line on 34 targets across 17 regular-season appearances in 2022, his first year paired with quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Now back with the Chiefs on a two-year deal, Watson figures to reprise his role as a rotational deep threat, one that mostly limits his fantasy value to best ball formats or extremely deep leagues.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Healthy to start Super Bowl prep
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Watson (illness) was listed as a full participant on the Chiefs' estimated injury report Wednesday.
Watson was inactive for the Chiefs' AFC Championship Game victory over the Bengals due to an illness that surfaced late in the week, but he appears to have cleared the aliment and should be full go for Kansas City's Super Bowl prep. The fifth-year wideout played 37 snaps during the Chiefs' divisional-round win over the Jaguars and secured his lone target for 12 yards. He also appeared in all 17 of Kansas City's regular-season contests, totaling 15 receptions on 34 targets for 315 yards and two scores.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Inactive for AFC Championship Game
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Watson (illness) is inactive for Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the Bengals.
Watson caught his lone target for 12 yards across 37 offensive snaps during the Chiefs' divisional-round win over the Jaguars, but he won't be able to play Sunday due to an illness that surfaced late in the week. In Watson's absence, Skyy Moore will be a candidate for increased snaps behind JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney and Mecole Hardman.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Minimal involvement in passing game
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Watson caught one of two targets for 27 yards during Sunday's 27-24 win against Denver.
Watson made his first catch since Week 13 in this one and played only 22 offensive snaps (37 percent), falling well below his snap counts over the last three weeks. Even big snap counts don't tend to result in much fantasy production from Watson, who can be left on the waiver wire in most formats.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Minimal impact against Bengals
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Watson hauled in his only target for 15 yards during Sunday's 27-24 loss against the Bengals.
Watson's snap count dipped to just 62 percent (34 snaps) in this one, his lowest mark since Week 9 aginst the Titans. Even when he's seen more playing time, Watson hasn't tallied more than three catches in a game and has just one touchdown on the ledger, so he's not much of a fantasy asset.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Snares two passses
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Watson gathered in all two targets for 26 yards during Sunday's 26-10 win against the Rams.
Watson has seen the largest uptick in his snap count over the last three weeks with Mecole Hardman (abdomen) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (concussion) either sidelined or limited, while rookie Skyy Moore has also enjoyed an increased snap count. Once Smith-Schuster is back in full, the pair could see their workloads reduced a bit, though Hardman's continued absence should open the door for additional snaps. Even so, Watson hasn't reeled in more than three passes in a game this season, so he's not on the fantasy radar in most formats.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Could have prominent role on SNF
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Watson is in line for an expanded role Sunday against the Chargers, as Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports that both JuJu Smith-Schuster (concussion) and Mecole Hardman (abdomen, IR) will miss the game.
Kansas City's top four wide receivers will be Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Watson, Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore. Valdes-Scantling has been battling an illness this week, Moore's an unproven rookie who hasn't made much of an impact on offense, and Toney has been with the team for less than a month. Meanwhile, Watson has built up a rapport with Patrick Mahomes, albeit in a depth role, but he'll have some upside on Sunday night given the lack of healthy alternatives in Kansas City's high-powered passing game.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Gets big snap count Week 10
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Watson turned his lone target into a 12-yard reception in Sunday's 27-17 win over the Jaguars.
With Mecole Hardman (abdomen) inactive for the Week 10 contest and with JuJu Smith-Schuster (concussion) exiting early, Watson played a season-high 45 snaps on offense (73 percent share). That snap count actually handily outpaced Kadarius Toney (28, 45 percent) for third among Kansas City wideouts, but Toney (four receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown, two carries for 33 yards) was far more involved than Watson. Given how Toney was able to capitalize on his touches, it wouldn't be surprising if his snap count surpassed Watson's in Week 11 against the Chargers, regardless of the statuses of Hardman and Smith-Schuster.
