Kansas City Chiefs stock watch: Who is up and down from Week 2?

Justin Watson: Rising

There was significant discussion in the offseason and all throughout the preseason about who was going to be the last two wide receivers on the Chiefs roster. The first four had pretty much been set in stone, and so there was a battle for the final two possible spots. The Chiefs wound up sticking with just five receivers initially going into the season, and that fifth receiver they kept? Justin Watson, a former 5th-round pick from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

And boy, has he already outperformed expectations. Now, this was his first game with a catch, and he only wound up with a total of 2 catches for 50 yards, but he came up with a critical touchdown that helped set the Chiefs’ comeback in motion.

After the game, Patrick Mahomes talked about how he’s been impressed with Watson noting, in particular, his speed. Throughout the preseason he was the overwhelmingly biggest performer among the wide receivers. And the two biggest traits he showed were speed and sure hands, two things he showed on Thursday in a big gain against the Chargers’ top corner J.C. Jackson.

We shouldn’t expect Watson to start catching bombs each week while climbing the depth chart. However, Watson’s future is certainly looking like it may have more bright moments for the Chiefs ahead.