3 Chiefs Andy Reid Needs to Stop Playing Immediately

If the Kansas City Chiefs are to win a third consecutive Super Bowl, HC Andy Reid must immediately consider benching these three underperforming players.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid signals to go for one point after a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills in the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid signals to go for one point after a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills in the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium. / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
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3. Justin Watson, WR

The Chiefs' wide receiver room has been riddled with injuries throughout the season, which is why Kansas City fans hoped Justin Watson would step up at some point.

After all, the veteran receiver is in his third season with the Chiefs, meaning he's familiar with the offense, and just tallied career-highs in catches (27), receiving yards (460), and touchdowns (3) last season. With Patrick Mahomes throwing him the ball, it's easy to see why expectations were high.

But instead of stepping up when his team needed him, Watson has been invisible more often than not.

Although a 76.0% catch percentage (19-of-25) through 13 games is the best rate of his career, that's basically the only thing Watson has going on. The 29-year-old wideout is averaging fewer yards per reception (11.8) and yards per game (28.8) than he was in 2023 (17.0 and 28.8, respectively) while his 52.5 catching grade is the sixth-worst among 120 WRs on PFF.

Watson's play has dropped even more as the season continued, recording just six catches for 53 yards and a score in his last five outings. If that isn't bad enough, he wasn't even targeted once in Week 14 despite being on the field for 35 offensive snaps.

With his performances trending in the wrong direction, the Chiefs may as well remove Watson from the lineup — especially with Marquise Brown nearing his return — before searching for a replacement in the offseason.

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