Kansas City Chiefs: Ben Watson could provide long lost tight end depth

It appears the Kansas City Chiefs are close to a deal with tight end Ben Watson. While not a huge weapon, Watson gives the Chiefs quality depth at TE.

I’m sure your reaction to this was the same as mine, to be surprised that Ben Watson is still playing. He is 37 years old and is going into his 15th season if he does sign with the Chiefs. The only tight end in the league older than Watson is Antonio Gates.

Watson was drafted the year after Gates in 2004 by the New England Patriots. He spent his first six years with the Patriots winning the Super Bowl in his rookie season. After 2009 Watson spent his next eight years between the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens.

At 6’3 255 pounds, Watson has never been a number one weapon on a team. Despite his size he ran a 4.53 at the combine, runs great routes and is hard to take down. But he’s always been more of a safety blanket rather than a big threat.

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In no way am I saying that in a derogatory manor either. As safety blankets go he’s been one of the best and most consistent in the league during his time in the NFL. Ask any fantasy football owner who the best backup TE option is anytime your star goes on a bye week, they likely would list Watson near the top.

That is because of his ability to be a red zone threat. In his 14 years he has only had fewer than two touchdowns twice, and both of those season he missed the entire year due to injury. He averages around 35 catches and 400 yards a season to go along with three touchdown a year. These aren’t eye popping numbers, but they are incredibly consistent.

That consistency is exactly what the Chiefs have been lacking at the backup tight end position. Demetrius Harris could get open, and he made some all time Chiefs plays, but he also dropped more balls than Christian Okoye. Ok maybe that is an unfair exaggeration, but it’s not too far off either. Harris was the most frustrating player on the team for me, because he could get so wide open all the time, but would just drop ball after ball killing drives.

Harris is under contract for the 2018 season, but the Chiefs would save nearly $2 million by cutting him. As of right now he’s the teams best option on the roster, but if Watson is indeed signed, that would make Harris expendable. It’s likely Watson would sign for around $1 million (which is what he made last year) meaning the team could save around $1 million by making those moves.

While Watson doesn’t wow on paper or scare defenses in the same way the Sammy Watkins signing did, it would still be a good one. He would give you a backup tight end who is a big body in the run game and dependable in the passing game. Watson’s biggest advantage would come in the red zone giving the Chiefs a big target with solid hands. Anytime you can bring someone in who can improve one of your biggest weaknesses, that’s a good signing.

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