Watson is expected to receive more playing time than rookie Rashee Rice and second-year wideout Justyn Ross early on during the 2023 season, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports.
Teicher notes that based on how Kansas City utilized its receivers in training camp, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore and Watson will see the most snaps out of the gate, and Kadarius Toney (knee) should also factor into that mix if he's available to play in Thursday's season opener versus the Lions. Though Rice led the team with 14 catches in the preseason, and the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Ross profiles as a red-zone threat, the former had issues with drops and the latter spent the entire 2022 season recovering from a foot injury. As such, Kansas City is expected to hand the two young wideouts only limited roles early on, paving the way for Watson and some of the more established receivers to pick up more playing time. Watson handled snap shares north of 50 percent in all but one of the defending Super Bowl champions' final nine games of the 2022 regular season, but he generated just nine catches for 214 yards and no touchdowns on 20 targets over that stretch. Kansas City appears to value the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Watson mainly for his blocking prowess and special-teams contributions rather than as a high-priority target in the passing game.