*****The Jaylen Watson Thread*****

[Dante84]

More to come!

Jaylen Watson was drafted with pick 243 of round 7 in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 9.21 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 159 out of 2001 CB from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/jSuO8mu17Y #RAS #Chiefs pic.twitter.com/YJuF6Gte7P

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 30, 2022

Watson was an all-region receiver and also played cornerback at Lucy C. Laney High School in Augusta, Georgia, before moving across the country to play at Ventura College in California. He was a two-time junior college All-American cornerback there, signing with USC for 2019 but not enrolling in school. Watson went to Pullman instead for the 2020 season, earning honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors that fall (13 tackles, two pass breakups in three starts) as well as in 2021, when he posted 31 tackles, two interceptions, three pass breakups and ranked second in the FBS with four fumble recoveries in 12 starts. He opted out of the team's bowl game to prepare for the NFL draft. -- by Chad Reuter

Overview-- by Lance Zierlein
Watson is big and strong. He can be a physical presence when he's playing with patience from press coverage. With just two years of experience at the FBS level, he's predictably raw with his fundamentals, but the lack of agility and short-area quickness should be more than just short-term concerns. Currently, he's unable to stay in phase with quality route runners but does have physical traits that might warrant a practice squad stint for defenses reliant upon Cover 2 and/or Cover 3 schemes.
Strengths
-Good size, strength and length.
-Fought through adversity to find an FBS home.
-Developmental traits for zone-heavy units.
-Displayed improved fundamentals in 2021.
-Very physical in bullying the release from press.
-Strong punch drives through wideout's shoulders.
-Overwhelms catch point on contested catches.
-Willing hitter with plus strength in run support.
Weaknesses
-Impatient and often overextends in matching release in press.
-Lacks foot agility and quickness for man coverage.
-Footwork through transitions is sloppy and slow.
-Gets routed out of position fairly easily.
-Looked overmatched against USC wideouts.
-Doesn't trust his eyes just yet.
-Takes poor angles and lacks a credible burst to close on throws.
-Doesn't find the football in downfield route phase.