NFL free agency officially kicks off next week with the legal tampering window opening on Monday. The Kansas City Chiefs have gotten used to seeing their big name free agents depart for teams that can give them heftier contracts and Jaylen Watson is expected to fall into that category.
Watson, a former seventh-round pick by the Chiefs in the 2022 NFL Draft, has definitely outperformed his draft placement and did so as a rookie. He started six regular season games for the Chiefs in 2022 and helped the team win back-to-back Super Bowl titles in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Now, Watson hits free agency for the first time in his career and a recent prediction from Sports Illustrated comes true, Watson will be getting the bag. Gilberto Manzano and Matt Verderame of SI projected the top 50 free agent's future contracts and Verderame had Watson landing CB1 tier money with a three-year deal worth $54 million.
"Watson is underrated nationally because he’s not one of the superstar names on the Chiefs, such as Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones or Trent McDuffie. However, Watson has been excellent over the past two years, totaling two interceptions and six passes defensed in 2025 while playing 96% of the snaps. He’ll get low-end, No. 1 corner money either in Kansas City or elsewhere."
The Kansas City Chiefs cornerback is projected to earn CB1 money, which is a figure that will send him out of town.
Chiefs fans have likely come to terms with the fact that Watson simply won't be someone the team can afford to keep. As Verderame noted, Watson is an underrated name outside of Kansas City because he's not one of those stars that were listed, but he's a good player and a team will be happy to reward him for that.
Verderame predicted the Giants or Rams would ultimately be the ones giving Watson that deal. If it's the Rams, he'd go to a team that can compete for a Super Bowl. If it's the Giants, he might experience more losing than he was used to in Kansas City but John Harbaugh should have that team improving in 2026.
Wherever Watson ends up, he might have a hefty new contract accompanying him to his new city. If he ends up landing CB1 money, then good for him. The Chiefs aren't going to pay him like that so he should absolutely go chase the bag wherever that may be.