The Kansas City defender was the third-highest ranked cornerback on the list.
Chiefs Quote of the Day
Special teams coordinator Dave Toub on his highest-graded special teams playerthis season
“It’s going to be probably (linebacker) Cooper McDonald, production-wise,” Toub revealed during his press conference on Thursday. “He has kind of jumped out in front here these last couple weeks, but it was a tight race all the way up until that point.”
McDonald joined the Chiefs last May after impressing during a tryout in rookie minicamp. He earned a spot on the 53-man roster after a strong preseason, and has now been recognized as one of the most crucial members of Toub’s unit.
The latest
Ranking the Top 40 NFL Free Agents of 2026 | The Ringer
18. Cornerback Jaylen Watson
Current team: Kansas City Chiefs
Age: 27
Drafted: 2022, seventh round (243rd)
Pro Bowls: None
All-Pro teams: NoneWatson is a tall, long-armed cornerback who has improved every year of his career. Over the last two seasons, Watson has allowed just one touchdown and recorded three pass breakups and two interceptions, per PFF. He’s a scheme-versatile, disciplined player with more than 2,000 snaps played at outside corner over the last four years. Watson may not have a ton of ball production, but he makes up for it with down-to-down consistency and an overall reluctance to give up the big play. The Chiefs currently have the least 2026 cap space of any team in the league, making it hard to imagine that they can afford to keep Watson (and others in his draft class like safety Bryan Cook and linebacker Leo Chenal) on the franchise tag or a new multiyear extension. DJ Reed, Christian Benford, Charvarius Ward, and Carlton Davis—outside corners with decent résumés like Watson’s—signed multiyear contracts in the $16 million to $18 million per year range last offseason; Watson could be looking for something similar.
Bonus five: Things we got wrong
5. Belief in the Kansas City Chiefs: The 2023 season was hard for me to shake. That year, the Chiefs lost three of four games to start December to fall to 9-6, then went on to win the Super Bowl. They still had Patrick Mahomes in his prime this season, paired with Andy Reid and a receiver group that looked talented
on paper and was supposed to become more available — from injuries and suspension — as the year went on. The defense was also not bad.
It never came together, though. That makes it look really foolish to rank the Chiefs in the top three as Super Bowl favorites from Week 8 through Week 11. Of the eight games the Chiefs lost with Mahomes as the starter, seven were against teams that are in the playoffs, and only once in those eight games — a 10-point loss to the Houston Texans in Week 14 — did Kansas City lose by more than one possession. The Chiefs had a tough schedule, but they also were just not a good team this season.
Kansas City Mayor sees opportunity for Arrowhead after Chiefs move | FOX 4
Mayor Quinton Lucas doesn’t think there will be two empty stadiums. He sees Kauffman Stadium being torn down if the Royals leave, but Arrowhead remaining.
“We do still have active bids for the Women’s World Cup and World Cup Rugby 2031 and 2033 using Arrowhead Stadium by the way as the location for both,” Mayor Lucas said.
Beyond that the mayor says Arrowhead will compete for concerts and other events with the new Chiefs stadium in Kansas and smaller venues like T-Mobile Center and the new Morton Amphitheater set to open this summer in Riverside, Missouri.
Around the NFL
Dolphins hire Troy Aikman for GM search | The Phinsider
According to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, Aikman is “NOT involved in any decision on [head coach Mike] McDaniel.” Aikman has praised and criticized McDaniel in the past, notably on Monday Night Football in Week 15, when the Dolphins trailed the Pittsburgh Steelers late but showed no sense of urgency on offense. Jackson adds, “That’s a Ross call. Ross still has faith in Mike, so nobody would be surprised if McDaniel returns. BUT there’s no indication there has been a final decision and thus nobody in media is going out on any limbs saying anything definitive because life is fluid and unpredictable.”
Source: Saints’ Chris Olave out for finale due to blood clot | ESPN
Saints wide receiver Chris Olave developed a blood clot in one of his lungs and will miss the team’s season finale against the Atlanta Falcons, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Olave, who was listed on the injury report with an illness after missing Wednesday’s practice, has no history with blood clots and is expected to recover within the next month. He will be able to participate in the Saints’ offseason program when it begins in April, the source said.
Olave posted a photo of himself in the hospital on Instagram on Thursday, writing: Thank you God for everything! Right where I need to be, life is full of unexpected twists & turns & I’m grateful to experience it. Chin up, chest out & keep it pushin. I don’t want ya sympathy just talk to God for me. Bounce back otw!”
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
All 3 Chiefs’ coordinators reflect on disappointing 2025 season
“What was disappointing — I haven’t gone back and reflected on all of it — was some end-of-game defense that I would have liked to have back,” said Spagnuolo. “If we could have found a way to make one play towards the end of the game, it either would have given our offense the ball back or we would have found a way to win the game. That more than anything sticks out. If we can get better at that, I’ll be happy.”
The Chiefs’ special teams coordinator Dave Toub shared that sentiment from a different perspective.
“We just didn’t make plays,” he told reporters. “We just couldn’t get a game where we made plays to win the game — and I’m just speaking on my end of it. In the past, we’ve done that a lot of times. The way we started out in Brazil — with the fast field goal that we did? That was awesome. That was cutting-edge… then [Harrison] Butker ends up missing five kicks in September. That was like a Debbie Downer right there.”
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