Kansas City Chiefs go safety in the 4th round with Armani Watts

With the 124th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs have taken a free safety from Texas A&M in Armani Watts.

Armani Watts is a 5’10, 202lb who looks to be a steal for the Chiefs in the fourth round of the draft. He was a first-team all-SEC player last season who amassed 324 tackles, 10 interceptions and 17 passes defended in his college career.

He’s a great man cover safety who has good awareness an anticipation in zone coverage as well. Not afraid to get his nose dirty in run support, he’s about as solid all-around free safety as there is in the draft.

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He is a little slight right now so he’ll need to get into the Chiefs’ weight room and add some bulk. He does have a tendency to go for the thump over solid tackling, so he’ll need to work on becoming more of a solid tackler.

One word I’ve seen surrounding Watts more than any other is that he’s a playmaker. He was responsible for 16 turnovers in his career between forced fumbles and interceptions and that is something the Chiefs need now. The Chiefs biggest playmaker was Marcus Peters but he’s now in LA with the Rams. If Watts can be around the ball in the NFL as often as he was in college, that fills a huge need in KC.

Don’t just take my word for it, here are what some of the experts are saying about him:

"Watts is a feast or famine player whose biggest faults are often self-inflicted and not due a lack of talent or athletic ability. He’s smooth and athletic and plays with instincts and ball skills to flip the field on the next level. Watts’ success as a professional will likely depend on work ethic and consistency as a tackler.Lance Zierlein (NFL Analyst)Opposing quarterbacks averaged a 39.4 passer rating when targeting Watts last seaosn, which ranked No. 2 among all returning SEC safeties.He also graded well in the slot, allowing a passer rating of only 54.3 in 121 snaps.Austin Gayle (Pro Football Focus)"

Watts is a player that will compete for the starting safety job from day one. He’s got corner quickness, great ball skills and a very productive four-year starter for an SEC school. This is a steal that fans should be very excited about!