It’s a shame that the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t get more out of their 2018 draft class than they did.
Anchored by second-round pick Breeland Speaks, for whom they traded up, no less, the class of 2018 could arguably go down as the single worst overall draft haul in team history. The Chiefs somehow landed hardly anything at all of note from the entire three-day event, which was the first draft under Brett Veach’s leadership in the front office. Fortunately, he’s gotten much, much better at this drafting thing.
The best of the bunch from that fated class of 2018 was defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi, who became a valuable base player along the defensive line for the Chiefs. That said, even Nnadi was a very part-time player and from there, the next best player would either be the special teams play provided by linebacker Dorian O’Daniel or safety Armani Watts.
As we survey the Kansas City Chiefs free agents-to-be, let’s explore the case for bringing back center Austin Blythe.
At this stage, the rookie deals for all parties in that rookie class are now finished, but some of those were already no longer with the team. Watts, however, is one player who the Chiefs could potentially bring back, one of 25 free agents about which the team must make a decision in terms of offseason approach.
Let’s look back at the four-year stint of Watts in K.C. and ask what it might look like to bring him back for a fifth (or not).
Why bring him back?
In a year in which the Chiefs are going to see so much turnover, the secondary in particular could see a lot of departures. Tyrann Mathieu could hit the open market as an expensive free-agent-to-be. Chris Lammons is likely done in professional football if police reports are true that he was involved in a battery with Alvin Kamara. Charvarius Ward, Daniel Sorensen, and Mike Hughes are also all scheduled to hit free agency.
While Watts wasn’t exactly a player upon whom the Chiefs heavily depended, the truth is that there’s something nice about having a reliable player who can contribute meaningfully on special teams in all aspects. He’s been well-coached by Dave Toub and is also on the field for a handful of defensive plays per game as well. It won’t exactly move the meter of fan excitement to see him back, but that doesn’t mean such a move would not be valuable.
Why let him walk?
In his rookie season, Watts played in only five games. Since then, he’s appeared in all 16 games every year (a good thing) while playing very little (not so good). Even last year where there was a clear need for better safety play in dime packages, Watts could not supplant a clearly declining Daniel Sorensen on the field, which tells you what the Chiefs coaches knew about his defensive potential (or maybe it says more about a stubborn coaching streak).
There’s nothing done by Watts that could not be done by another player on a rookie contract.
Recommendation
Whether or not to sign Watts to a new deal, which would undoubtedly be something non-guaranteed for the league minimum, depends on how the Chiefs feel about younger players ready to step up into a Watts-like role on the roster. From the outside looking in, that’s not a good thing for Watts.
The Chiefs stuck with BYU product Zayne Anderson, who latched on as an undrafted free agent, late in the year even after he made some very frustrating errors that led to turnovers. That dedication shows the coach’s belief in Anderson’s ceiling and he’s not the only one. Devon Key was a training camp sensation last summer and the Chiefs will be anxious to see how the physical defensive back looks in preseason games. Dicaprio Bootle is also a young corner the Chiefs really seem to think is ready for more.
Because of all of this, it makes no sense to bring back Watts when others are ready to at least try to take over what he did.
Prediction
Watts finds a special teams role elsewhere when camp begins to try to catch on with another franchise.