23 Facts About Jaylen Watson

Jaylen Watson was born on September 17,1998 and is an American professional football cornerback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League.

Jaylen Watson played college football at Ventura College before transferring to the Washington State Cougars.

Jaylen Watson was selected by the Chiefs in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Jaylen Watson initially committed to transfer to USC, but did not qualify academically to enroll at the school.

Jaylen Watson did not play in 2019 and returned to Augusta, where he worked at a local Wendy's restaurant that was managed by his mother while completing his coursework.

Jaylen Watson later signed to transfer to play at Washington State.

Jaylen Watson became an immediate starter at cornerback for the Washington State Cougars and was named honorable mention All-Pac-12 Conference after recording 13 tackles, two passes broken up, a forced fumble and one recovered fumble in three games during the team's COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.

Jaylen Watson repeated as an honorable mention All-Pac 12 selection in his final season.

Cory Giddings of Bleacher Report had Jaylen Watson ranked as the 28th best cornerback prospect in the draft.

Jaylen Watson was the 36th cornerback drafted and the third cornerback drafted by the Chiefs in 2022, following first round selection Trent McDuffie and fourth round selection Joshua Williams.

Jaylen Watson was promoted to the third cornerback on the depth chart and was appointed as the starting nickelback.

Jaylen Watson's performance earned him the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Jaylen Watson finished his rookie season with a total of 49 combined tackles, six passes defended, one interception, and one touchdown in 16 games and six starts.

Jaylen Watson received an overall grade of 57.0 from Pro Football Focus as a rookie in 2022.

Jaylen Watson earned the first Super Bowl ring of his career.

Jaylen Watson finished the season with a total of 33 combined tackles, six passes defended, and a career-high two sacks in 16 games and two starts.

Jaylen Watson received an overall grade of 68.5 from Pro Football Focus in 2023.

Jaylen Watson received an overall grade of 82.1 from Pro Football Focus in 2023.

Jaylen Watson entered training camp as a possible candidate to be the No 2 starting cornerback following the departure of L'Jarius Sneed.

Head coach Andy Reid named Jaylen Watson a starting cornerback to begin the season and paired him with No 1 starting cornerback Trent McDuffie.

Jaylen Watson finished the season with 32 combined tackles and six pass deflections in six games and six starts.

Jaylen Watson received an overall grade of 72.6 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 41st among 222 qualifying cornerbacks in 2024.

On January 17,2025, the Chiefs activated Jaylen Watson from injured reserve and added him back to their active roster for the playoffs.