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: Questionable for Sunday
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Watson (illness) is listed as questionable for Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the Bengals after not practicing Friday, Matt McMullen of the Chiefs' official site reports.
Watson's status will thus be worth monitoring as Sunday's 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff approaches, but on the heels of recording a 15-315-2 stat line on 34 targets in 17 games this past season, the wideout is only a fantasy option in deeper formats.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Small contribution in 2022
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Watson gathered in one of two targets for 67 yards during the Week 18 victory against the Raiders.
Watson beat his defender down the left sideline to reel in a perfectly placed deep shot from Patrick Mahomes on just the second play of the game, giving the Chiefs a first and goal inside the five-yard line. While it was an excellent way to start his day, Watson didn't contribute anything more to the box score. He's been targeted two or fewer times in six of the last seven games and has just three total catches in the last six. Despite logging north of 50 percent of the snaps most weeks of the season's second half, Watson doesn't get involved enough in the passing attack to warrant a look in most playoff formats and finishes out the regular season with just 15 grabs for 315 yards and two touchdowns on 34 targets. He enters the offseason slated to become an unrestricted free agent, so it's too early to tell where he will be playing in 2023.
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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: Another blank effort
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Watson hauled in zero of two targets for zero yards during Sunday's 30-24 overtime victory versus the Texans.
Watson hasn't hauled in a pass in either of the last two games despite playing 60-plus percent of the snaps in each of them. He hasn't drawn more than two targets since Week 11, and there's little reason to roster him in any format at this point.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Comes up empty in Week 14
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Watson didn't haul in either of his targets during Sunday's 34-28 win versus the Broncos.
Despite playing 64 percent of the offensive snaps, Watson drew just two targets and couldn't reel in either of them, finishing the day with an empty stat line for the first time since Week 6. That being said, Watson hasn't topped three catches in a game this season and has just two receiving touchdowns, so there isn't a ton to like from a fantasy perspective.
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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: Nabs three passes
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Watson recorded three receptions (on four targets) for 67 yards during Sunday's 30-27 win versus the Chargers.
Watson logged a season-high 57 offensive snaps (88 percent) in this contest, which isn't shocking following the news that JuJu Smith-Schuster (concussion) and Mecole Hardman (abdomen) would be sidelined for the game and Kadarius Toney (hamstring) also left early and didn't return. If Toney and Smith-Schuster remain sidelined next week, Watson could be worth a look in daily fantasy and some season-long 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.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Targeted once in win
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Watson failed to secure his lone target in Sunday's 41-31 win over the Buccaneers.
Watson was held without a catch on one target for the second straight week, playing just 14 of the Chiefs' 80 offensive snaps Sunday. With so many mouths to feed in Kansas City, the veteran wideout find himself as an afterthought in the offense behind fellow receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore. Watson should remain out of fantasy lineups when the Chiefs host the Raiders in Week 5.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Gets just one target
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Watson failed to corral his lone target while playing nine snaps on offense in Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Colts.
After recording a 41-yard touchdown reception in last week's win over the Chargers, Watson was unable to come through with a splash play Sunday while taking the field for just 15 percent of the Chiefs' snaps on offense. So long as Kansas City has all of JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman available at receiver, Watson will be unlikely to find himself on the field for even a third of the Chiefs' offensive plays in most games.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Logs full practice
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Watson (chest) was a full participant at practice Wednesday.
Watson picked up a minor injury on his touchdown reception during Kansas City's 27-24 victory over the Chargers in Week 2, but it doesn't appear that it's going to hold him out of Sunday's game at Indianapolis. Through his first two games with the Chiefs, Watson has recorded two receptions for 50 yards and a score on three targets.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Catches first TD since 2019
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Watson caught both of his targets for 50 yards and a touchdown during Thursday's 27-24 win over the Chargers, but Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said after the game that the wideout also picked up a shoulder injury, Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com reports.
Watson's first catch of the season was a 41-yard strike from Patrick Mahomes that cut the Chiefs' deficit to three. The score marked the veteran wideout's first touchdown since 2019, when he caught 15 passes for 159 yards and two scores -- all career highs -- for the Buccaneers. Watson added a nine-yard catch at the end of the third and was pushed out of bounds by Asante Samuel. It's unclear when Watson picked up the injury, but he'll have 10 days to clear the issue before Kansas City returns to action against Jacksonville on Sept. 25.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Good to go for Week 2
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Watson (chest) was a full participant in Tuesday's practice.
The Chiefs listed Watson as a limited participant on Monday's estimated report, but he didn't encounter any restrictions when the team held a more traditional practice session Tuesday. The 26-year-old receiver is in line to play Thursday against the Chargers, after he failed to catch his only target during last Sunday's season opener against the Cardinals.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Doesn't return to Sunday's game
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Watson suffered a chest injury during Sunday's win over the Cardinals, James Palmer of NFL Network reports.
Watson failed to secure his lone target during Sunday's season opener, and he was unable to return to the game after sustaining a chest injury during the second half. His availability for Thursday's matchup against the Chargers isn't yet clear.
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Chiefs' Justin Watson: Signs with Kansas City
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Watson signed a contract with the Chiefs on Friday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Watson underwent knee surgery in July, which cost him the start of the 2021 campaign. He was activated off the PUP list at the end of December and played 19 special-teams snaps for the Buccaneers against the Panthers in Week 16. However, he suffered a quadriceps injury during the contest that sidelined him for the rest of the regular season. Watson was then waived and rejoined Tampa Bay's practice squad in the middle of January. The 2018 fifth-round pick has caught 23 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns in 40 appearances across four NFL seasons -- all with the Bucs.
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Justin Watson: Waived by Tampa Bay
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Watson (quadriceps) was waived by the Buccaneers on Saturday, Carmen Vitali of the Buccaneers' official site reports.
Watson was questionable ahead of Sunday's wild-card matchup against the Eagles, but he'll now part ways with Tampa Bay. He made just one appearance for the Buccaneers during the regular season and played exclusively on special teams.
