Kansas City Chiefs: Stock Up, Stock Down after Week One vs Jaguars
By Kole Berrey
Stock Up
Sammy Watkins
Oh. Boy. Now THIS is the Sammy Watkins that Chiefs fans, and football fans in general, have been waiting to see. Watkins spent all day torching the Jaguars secondary to the tune of nine receptions, 198 yards, and three touchdowns. He looked like the player out of Clemson ready to dominate the NFL and who was eventually drafted ahead of a player like Odell Beckham Jr.
The problem with Sammy Watkins, otherwise known as the Lizard King, is his health. Every year it seems that Watkins misses long stretches of games, and fans just expect it at this point. Maybe that happens again. This time, though, it just looks and feels different.
Watkins wasn’t making incredible catches by any means. They were all pretty routine. What wasn’t routine was the speed he used to pull away from defenders or the juke moves he used to freeze them in their tracks.
Watkins isn’t just saying he is healthy, he looks the part. He also looks comfortable in Andy Reid‘s offense. Having a fulll year of the playbook down is huge.
Another thing that has Watkins’ stock on the rise is the injury to Tyreek Hill. No timetable has been given on his return, but he is expected to miss at least a few weeks. This opens the door for Watkins to keep his insane production up.
Look for him to have a big week two against the Raiders. The hype is real this time around. Buy all of Watkins’ stock you can.
Damien Wilson
Reggie Ragland was a starter on last year’s defense. He was also a notable player that started the Chiefs fourth preseason game this year and was a healthy scratch on the Chiefs list of inactives against the Jaguars. A big reason for that is the play of Damien Wilson.
Notable Chiefs @PFF notes:
— Sam Mellinger (@mellinger) September 9, 2019
- Sammy Watkins (91.6) best overall grade.
- Damien Wilson (83.9) best defender.
- Frank Clark (54.0) not awesome.
- Mahomes 6-8 145 yds 1 TD under pressure.
- Mahomes’ passer rating 118 or better in every situation: pressure or not, blitzed or not.
As you can see in the list above, Wilson was the Chiefs highest graded defender. The stat sheet may not reflect it, as Wilson only had five total tackles, but he had a very solid game for the Chiefs.
Wilson adds stability to the Chiefs defense. He is a good run defender, as well as a coverage linebacker. He may not have elite skills in any one area, but you can say the same things about his weaknesses. He just doesn’t have anything he can’t do. That will keep him on the field for the Chiefs.
He also added a timely forced fumble on Sunday, stealing away some momentum from the Jaguars. Wilson has a chance to make a difference for the Chiefs in 2019.