Justin Watson (wide receiver)

Justin Watson
refer to caption
Watson at the White House in 2023
No. 84 – Kansas City Chiefs
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1996-04-04) April 4, 1996 (age 28)
Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:South Fayette (PA)
College:Penn (2014–2017)
NFL draft:2018 / round: 5 / pick: 144
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 16, 2024
Receptions:84
Receiving yards:1,257
Receiving touchdowns:8
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Justin Howard Watson (born April 4, 1996) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft. Watson is a three-time Super Bowl champion, winning Super Bowl LV with the Buccaneers and Super Bowl LVII and LVIII with the Chiefs.

College career

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A 3-star wide receiver recruit, Watson committed to play college football for Penn over an offer from Bucknell.[1] In 40 career games at Penn from 2014-2017, Watson recorded 286 receptions for 3,777 yards and 33 touchdowns, and 44 carries for 339 yards and one touchdown.[2] As a senior in 2017, Watson was named Third-team FCS All-American at wide receiver after recording 81 receptions for 1,083 yards and 14 touchdowns (a school record).[3]

Watson finished his college career as a three-time All-Ivy League wide receiver (2015–17) and a two-time Ivy League champion (2015, 2016). He set the Penn career records far receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, and all-purpose yards.[4] He also holds the record for the most receiving yards in conference play in Ivy League history.[5][6]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 2+3⁄8 in
(1.89 m) 		215 lb
(98 kg) 		33+3⁄4 in
(0.86 m) 		9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		 4.44 s 1.53 s 2.60 s 4.26 s 7.08 s 40 in
(1.02 m)		 10 ft 4 in
(3.15 m)		 20 reps
All values from Pro Day[7][8][9]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Watson was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.[10] He made his NFL debut on September 30, 2018, against the Chicago Bears.[11] Watson caught his first career pass, a five-yard reception, on October 29, 2018, in a 37–34 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.[12] As a rookie, he appeared in 12 games.[13] On December 8, 2019, he caught his first career touchdown, a 17-yard reception from quarterback Jameis Winston.[5] In the 2019 season, he appeared in all 16 games and recorded 15 receptions for 159 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.[14]

In Week 10 of the 2020 season against the Carolina Panthers, Watson recorded his first career sack on punter Joseph Charlton during a fake punt attempt during the 46–23 win. Watson was the first offensive player in Buccaneers' history to record a sack.[15][16][17] He appeared in 11 games and recorded seven receptions for 94 yards on the season.[18] Watson and the Buccaneers later went on to win Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs 31–9.[19]

On July 24, 2021, it was announced that Watson would be out four months after undergoing knee surgery, and was placed on the PUP list.[20] He was placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list on August 31, 2021.[21] He was activated on December 24.[22] He appeared in one game in the 2021 season.[23] He was waived on January 15, 2022, and re-signed to the practice squad.[24][25]

Kansas City Chiefs

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Watson (#84) playing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022.

The Chiefs signed Watson to a one-year deal on February 4, 2022.[26] In the 2022 season, Watson appeared in all 17 games, of which he started five. He finished with 15 receptions for 315 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.[27] In Watson's first season with the Chiefs, they won Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles 38–35 with Watson catching two passes for 18 yards.[28]

Watson re-signed with the Chiefs on April 17, 2023.[29]

In the 2023–2024 NFL season, the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers 25–22 with Watson catching three passes for 54 yards.[30] Watson won his third Super Bowl championship in the win.[31]

Regular season

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Year Team Games Receiving Fumbles
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
2018 TB 12 0 1 5 5.0 5 0 0 0
2019 TB 16 2 15 159 10.6 17 2 0 0
2020 TB 11 2 7 94 13.4 36 0 0 0
2021 TB 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2022 KC 16 5 15 315 21.0 67 2 0 0
2023 KC 17 8 27 460 17.0 41 3 1 0
Career 73 17 65 1,033 15.9 67 7 1 0

References

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  1. ^ https://247sports.com/player/justin-watson-29423/high-school-48346/
  2. ^ https://pennathletics.com/sports/football/roster/justin-watson/3732
  3. ^ https://pennathletics.com/news/2017/12/12/football-justin-watson-named-ap-all-american.aspx
  4. ^ "Justin Watson". Penn Quakers Athletics. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Pride, Brandon (December 8, 2019). "Former Quaker Justin Watson scores first NFL touchdown in breakout performance". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  6. ^ Princiotti, Nora (April 25, 2018). "Penn's Justin Watson: Ivy Leaguer defying expectations – The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  7. ^ Adler, Jacob (March 19, 2018). "Justin Watson shows out at Penn football's Pro Day in advance of NFL Draft". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  8. ^ "Justin Watson, Pennsylvania, WR, 2018 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football".
  9. ^ "Justin Watson 2018 NFL Draft Profile". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  10. ^ Arcia, Gil (April 28, 2018). "Buccaneers take Pennsylvania WR Justin Watson". BucsNation.com. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  11. ^ "Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears – September 30th, 2018 – Snap Count". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  12. ^ "Buccaneers' Justin Watson: Logs first career catch in loss". CBSSports.com. October 29, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  13. ^ "Justin Watson 2018 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  14. ^ "Justin Watson 2019 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  15. ^ "Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers – November 15th, 2020". Pro Football Reference. November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  16. ^ "Did you know @jwat05 was first offensive player in franchise history to record a sack?". Twitter. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. November 16, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  17. ^ Patra, Kevin (February 7, 2021). "What we learned from Buccaneers win over Chiefs in Super Bowl LV". NFL.com. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  18. ^ "Justin Watson 2020 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  19. ^ "Super Bowl LV – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs – February 7th, 2021". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  20. ^ Easterling, Luke (July 25, 2021). "Bucs WR Justin Watson has knee surgery, expected to be out 4 months". Bucs Wire. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  21. ^ Smith, Scott (September 1, 2021). "Ryan Griffin, Antonio Hamilton Among Bucs' Cuts to Get to 53". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  22. ^ Smith, Scott (December 24, 2021). "Bucs Activate Rashard Robinson, Justin Watson". Buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  23. ^ "Justin Watson 2021 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  24. ^ "Lavonte David, Giovani Bernard Return from Injured Reserve Ahead of Wild Card Matchup". Buccaneers.com. January 15, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  25. ^ Smith, Scott (January 18, 2022). "Bucs Bring Justin Watson Back to Practice Squad". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  26. ^ Dixon, John (February 4, 2022). "Chiefs sign former Buccaneers wide receiver, work out Shane Ray". Arrowhead Pride. SB Nation. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  27. ^ "Justin Watson 2022 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  28. ^ "Super Bowl LVII – Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs – February 12th, 2023". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  29. ^ Alper, Josh (April 14, 2023). "Justin Watson to re-sign with Chiefs". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  30. ^ "Chiefs 25–22 49ers – February 11th, 2024". espn.com. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  31. ^ Maaddi, Rob (February 12, 2024). "Patrick Mahomes rallies the Chiefs to second straight Super Bowl title, 25–22 over 49ers in overtime". AP News. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
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