Jaylen Watson's return will help Chiefs sort secondary post-L'Jarius Sneed

When looking at the Kansas City Chiefs' run to their second straight Super Bowl title in the 2023 season, there are a lot of players who are overlooked. Jaylen Watson falls into this category and that's been the case in both of his professional seasons.

A seventh-round pick in 2022, Watson was immediately thrown into action and played all 16 games a rookie—even earning a game-winning pick-six against the Chargers in just his second game. He was relied on during the 2023 season as well, helping one of the league's best defenses stifle opponents en route to a second straight Super Bowl win while playing in 16 games and making 2 starts.

Following the 2023 season, Chiefs fans gained more respect for Watson when they learned the young player had been playing through a torn labrum for most of his second season. Watson had surgery in the offseason and has been a spectator at most of the Chiefs' offseason activities while recovering from surgery.

On Friday, Watson finally shed the non-contact jersey in training camp and began to ramp up his regimen. Chiefs fans should be elated to have him back in the fold as the team looks to three-peat.

The Chiefs secondary should benefit from more reps from Jaylen Watson as they look to sort out competition coming into a new season.

The Chiefs are going to need Watson healthy because the biggest departure for the back-to-back defending champs this offseason was L'Jarius Sneed. With Sneed now wearing Titans colors, Watson's role will be even bigger for the team that drafted him two years ago.

Watson is in play for a starting role opposite Trent McDuffie outside in the team's base defense, assuming he can get up to speed fairly quickly, Others vying for the role include fellow third-year corner Joshua Williams, Kelvin Joseph, Nazeeh Johnson and others. However, Watson is very much in that mix for increased playing time in the wake of Sneed's absnce.

Fortunately, Watson is looking like himself despite donning a non-contact jersey in training camp. During Monday's practice, Watson had an impressive interception of Patrick Mahomes and hurled the ball into the stands. If this is what Chiefs fans can expect from the soon-to-be third-year defensive back, it should be another fun year for the Kansas City secondary.

Training camp isn't the real deal but it's good to see Watson looking like himself. The Chiefs defense will lose a few steps without Sneed but if Watson can continue to grow as a player, the defending champs should still be in great shape as they look to three-peat.