Justin Watson's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Justin Watson (foot) left training camp practice early on Wednesday with a foot injury, according to multiple reporters on the scene. The 28-year-old wideout is entering his third year with the Chiefs. He finished third on the team in 2023 with 460 yards on 27 receptions while scoring three touchdowns, and he should once again be a key offensive piece for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, especially with second-year pass-catcher Rashee Rice facing a potential lengthy suspension. With rookie first-round wideout Xavier Worthy (illness) missing his third straight practice on Wednesday, the Chiefs are a little short-handed at the position early in camp. While Watson has been reliable when on the field for KC, he can be left to the waiver wire to begin the year in most fantasy leagues.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Justin Watson is set to serve as the team's No. 3 wideout on Super Bowl Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. The problem with that role, however, is that K.C.'s passing attack has been so concentrated toward Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice that there hasn't been much production to go around beside them. In his last five games, Watson has collected four of his nine targets for 77 scoreless yards since Week 17. The 27-year-old downfield threat is still likely to work in a rotation with other Chiefs receivers, handling around 52% of the team's offensive snaps across three playoff appearances this postseason, so he's not going to be a reliable bet in the big game. Besides some dart-throw appeal, Watson is a low-floor DFS play without a particularly high ceiling.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Justin Watson watched as fellow vertical threat Marquez Valdes-Scantling came down with two 30-yard passes in last Sunday's 27-24 Divisional Round win on the road over the Buffalo Bills, getting held catchless for the fourth time in 18 appearances in total during 2023. Watson has reached the 60-yard mark only once this year, and he remains just a Hail Mary fantasy proposition after placing third in average depth of target (17.5) and fifth in yards per reception (17.0) among wideouts in the regular season. Even though Skyy Moore (knee) is out and Kadarius Toney (hip) is questionable for Sunday's AFC Championship matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, the likes of Watson and Valdes-Scantling are still unlikely to receive more than one deep target apiece in low-volume roles based on their season norms. Neither are reliable bets but remain possible leverage plays in single-game DFS showdowns.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Justin Watson looks set for an expanded role in the regular-season finale versus the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chiefs have ruled out top wideout Rashee Rice (hamstring) for Week 18, and Travis Kelce probably won't be out there for his usual amount of playing time. 2023 has easily been Watson's most productive season, banking career-high figures in targets (52), catches (27), yards (460), and touchdowns (three). The 27-year-old's calling card is his ability as a vertical threat, ranking second in the league in average yards of target distance (17.8) and fifth in yards per reception (17.0). Watson has played just 52.3% of K.C.'s offensive snaps this year, but he could be in line for his largest workload as a dart-throw DFS option with the team shorthanded on Sunday.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Justin Watson was expected to have a bigger role in the passing attack in the Week 17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals with Kadarius Toney (hip) sidelined for the second straight game. Watson ended up catching one of his three targets, although it was a big play and went for a gain of 41 yards to put him second behind rookie Rashee Rice (127) in receiving yards on the day. With Toney out in last week's loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, Watson caught four of six targets for 38 yards and a touchdown. It's been really hard to trust any Chiefs pass-catchers in fantasy this year not named Rice or Travis Kelce. Watson has had career-highs in catches (27), receiving yards (460) and touchdowns (three), but he's also caught one or fewer passes in seven of his 15 games played.