The Kansas City Chiefs' wide receiver rotation will look a good deal different than it did in the 2023-24 campaign. Offseason additions of Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and rookie Xavier Worthy should help the club's upside, also raising its floor along with Rashee Rice in year No. 2. Behind them, however, there's still one player who can't be forgotten.
Now entering his seventh season in the NFL, Justin Watson figures to once again play a supporting role on offense. How big of a workload could he be in for, exactly? One outlet is predicting a sizable contribution, and one that would surprise just about everyone.
In a recent article featuring 100 bold predictions for the 2024 NFL season, Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated made a daring statement regarding Watson. According to Orr, the former fifth-round pick will lead the Chiefs in receiving touchdowns this year.
"The 28-year-old has been a silent favorite of Patrick Mahomes for years," Orr wrote. "With the Chiefs breaking in another new suite of wide receivers, their experience together will pay dividends in a handful of critical spots."
This would certainly be unexpected. After all, Watson has yet to break through as a leading option for an NFL offense and his career-best mark for touchdowns is three. Despite boasting a nice size-speed combination (6-foot-2 with a 4.44-second 40-yard dash), the athleticism doesn't translate to elite production. It doesn't get much bolder than putting Watson at the top in a system that also will have Rice, Brown, Worthy and tight end Travis Kelce vying for premium targets.
With that said, Watson's arrow was trending up last season. His 27 receptions for 460 yards and the aforementioned three scores were all career-high totals. That touchdown figure was good for second among all Kansas City wideouts and fourth on the team. Additionally, his 536 snaps played during the regular season ranked third at the receiver position for the Chiefs. Given the profiles of Brown and Worthy, Watson's role may not be cut into as much as some believe.
At the end of the day, though, it's still extremely lofty to project such an effort from Watson. Entering his age-29 campaign, he's firmly established as a good role player and a trusted target for Mahomes. Will that relationship evolve even more this season as new faces enter the fold? Perhaps, but not enough for a likely required touchdown output of six or more.
