Armani

Watts

Watts suffered the injury covering a kickoff in Saturday evening’s preseason finale against the Bucs. The No. 124 overall pick of the 2018 Draft by the Chiefs, Watts has carved out an NFL career as a linchpin special teamer. He will be a 27-year-old trying to come back in 2023.

The former fourth-round pick appeared in 53 games across four seasons for the Chiefs, missing only one game over the past three years. Watts never saw much action on defense in Kansas City but was a fixture on special teams with three snaps shy of 1,000 on that side of the ball in four seasons.

Watts’ injury is unclear. The No. 124 overall pick of the draft, Watts had been seeing some legitimate snaps on defense. Jordan Lucas will be needed for more snaps.

Watts (5’11/202) started all four years in the Aggies’ secondary, tallying 23.5 career tackles for loss, 10 interceptions, and five forced fumbles. Watts earned first-team All-SEC in 2017 and logged 32 defensive “stops,” seventh most among Division-I safeties in PFF College’s charts. Watts disappointed in the forty (4.64) and three-cone drill (7.25) at the Combine, raising concerns about his NFL transition. Still, Watts showed enough range, ball skills, and man-coverage ability in the SEC for optimism he can become a factor at free safety.

A four-year starter at Texas A&M, it’s not surprising Watts got some reps with the first-team defense. Watts may open the season as a third safety behind Eric Berry and Leon McQuay but has the playmaking talent for a rookie impact.

Sixth-round OG Kahlil McKenzie, the son of Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie, also signed his rookie deal. Watts was a four-year starter at Texas A&M, recording 23.5 career tackles for loss, 10 interceptions, and five forced fumbles. He disappointed at the Combine, but Watts is a playmaker who could out-perform his draft stock.