The Kansas City Chiefs were already watching a procession of defensive backs leaving town in free agency this offseason, as the class of 2022 graduated to bigger paychecks. But after trading away the team's best pass defender in the shocking blockbuster centered on Trent McDuffie, the Chiefs might ask one of those players to stick around.
Specifically, Jaylen Watson, the team's best starter outside, is only days away from hitting the open market for the chance to earn generational money. Watson's free agency profile is set, with absolutely nothing keeping him from enjoying a guaranteed bidding war for his services that could reach nearly $20 million annually.
The Chiefs looked poised to let him walk, as they have with other talented cornerbacks who deserved a serious raise. They traded McDuffie before having to extend him. They watched Charvarius Ward leave for the San Francisco 49ers. They flipped L'Jarius Sneed when the costs were inflated. This is Kansas City's chosen process.
Jaylen Watson as the exception?
Watson, however, might be the exception. According to NFL reporter Mike Garafolo, the Chiefs are interested in retaining Watson, especially after getting a bit more cap space via the McDuffie deal and other contractual moves.
"The Chiefs are going to make a run at Jaylen Watson, who has really come along as a complete cornerback and now shows that he can do a little bit of everything. He’s got length. He’s got speed. He can play press. He can tackle. His instincts have come along, again thanks to the tutelage of [Dave] Merritt in the back there and Steve Spagnuolo, who is the defensive coordinator, as well. "
Watson's market value comes in around $12.5 million, per Spotrac, but a recent prediction from Sports Illustrated has the K.C. cornerback making as much as $18 million annually. That's a lot to stomach, but it's also considerably less than the $30M demanded by McDuffie's reps in any long-term negotiations.
The cornerback cupboards are bare
The Chiefs selected five defensive backs in the 2022 NFL Draft, and every single one of those picks tuned into positive contributors for the team, to varying degrees. McDuffie blossomed into one of the NFL's elite corners. Watson was a seventh-round find who ranks among the best potential free agents. Bryan Cook is a star safety who will be the highest-paid on the market. Joshua Williams and Nazeeh Johnson were role players and special teamers.
Kristian Fulton is in place and is being paid like a replacement for someone on the outside, but the problem is that the Chiefs left him as a healthy scratch for the majority of 2025. He only played (well) due to injury when the year was already a lost cause, so it's hard to predict how they view him internally at this point.
Nohl Williams is the other dependable presence at corner worth mentioning in a conversation around Watson. The physical corner looked the part as K.C.'s next lockdown option, but he also had some serious rookie hiccups that need to be addressed. But Pro Football Focus graded him as the No. 16 overall corner a year ago, and the Chiefs are right to lean on him heavily in year two.
No one in Kansas City should panic about the state of the secondary just yet. Free agency has yet to begin. The draft will add some candidates. But the cupboards are bare, and it makes sense why the Chiefs will want to stay in conversation with Watson about his interest in coming back and the costs involved to do so. The Chiefs have paved a one-way road in the secondary out of town after four years, but Watson might be the exception after dealing McDuffie.