LISTEN: Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson opens up about his underdog story ROB MAADDI and MIKE HEMPEN October 23, 2025 at 11:03 PM 0 Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.
- - LISTEN: Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson opens up about his underdog story
ROB MAADDI and MIKE HEMPEN October 23, 2025 at 11:03 PM
0
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., right, tries to get past Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson (35) during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Various NFL Players Hey, this is Russell Wilson. This is Joe Montana. This is Dak Prescott. Hey, this is Jason Kelsey. You're listening to Rob Maaddi. Rob Maaddi, Rob Maaddi, Rob Maaddi.
Rob Maaddi, AP Senior NFL Writer: Welcome to On Football with me, Rob Maaddi. We're almost at the midpoint of the NFL season. Trade deadline coming up, Nov. 4. Aaron Rodgers faces the Green Bay Packers this week. More about that in Pro Picks. Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson joins me. He's a great underdog story. That conversation is coming up along with Pro Picks We've been red hot with those, so stay tuned.
Mike Evans went down this week with a broken collarbone that's going to keep him out for mostly the rest of the season. He also suffered a concussion on the same play. That means one of the NFL's great streaks is going to end. Evans had 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first 11 seasons. That was the most to start a career and tied with Jerry Rice for the most ever. Beyond that, I've been able to see the last four years of Mike's career up close here in Tampa. And he's one of the most beloved players across the locker room that I've ever been around in 26 years covering the NFL. Everyone, teammates, Buccaneers staff, people in the building, fans, they all love Mike Evans. And he is a guy who has done so much for the community. The future is uncertain right now for Mike. It's a shame to see his streak end this way. You know, it wasn't going to happen if he was healthy. He was going to keep going out there and getting his thousand yards. But this is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, whether he plays another down again or not.
Jaylen Watson was a seventh-round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022. He finished that season as a starter. He had two picks in the playoffs, one against Joe Burrow in the AFC championship game. He helped the Chiefs win a Super Bowl, then another one. Here's my conversation with Jaylen.
MAADDI: Tell me a little bit about being a seventh-round pick, walking into an organization like the Kansas City Chiefs, what your expectations were, long before you went to Super Bowls and you're intercepting passes from Joe Burrow in the playoffs. Like before all that, like when you walk into an organization as a seventh-round pick, and you're on that team, what was going through your mind then?
WATSON: Going in with a chip on my shoulder, you know, going in the seventh round, tough, you know, watching all the guys in front of you get drafted. So I just took that chip on shoulder, which I always had, felt like I always been an underdog, always was overlooked, but I had the opportunity and that's what I was blessed to have. And just tried to make the most of my opportunities.
MAADDI: Was there a point early in that rookie season, whether it's in camp, OTAs, whenever it was, where you kind of felt like you knew you belonged? Did something happen along, or did you have that feeling the whole time?
WATSON: Yeah, so one day at training camp, I end up practicing with the ones. And how we do it, the ones go against the ones, twos go against the twos and threes go against threes. So I was getting like maybe two, three snaps of practice. And each camp, they give you an opportunity to show yourself, and you just got to make the most of it. And I played with the ones, and I had a really good practice. Then it just started rolling from there. Picked off Pat, OTAs. That was like the highlight of my rookie year. Showed my mom, like, ma, I just picked off Pat and just kept that confidence going and kept it rolling. And everything ended up great that rookie year.
MAADDI: When you pick Pat in OTAs, like, you don't talk trash at that point. You don't say anything, right?
WATSON: No, I didn't have enough say in the ring to even try to say anything. Just catch the pick and keep it moving.
MAADDI: You said, you know, you called your mom, you get that pick. Like, tell me a little bit about that relationship with your mom. I know she's been a manager at a fast food restaurant for a long time. And you worked right in college. Like, could you have envisioned at that time that you would be hoisting a Lombardi one day, be a big part on a defense that is as good as the Chiefs?
WATSON: No, no sign. You would have told me that, I would have told you you were lying, but it's all just a blessing. I don't know how it came about, but you know, working with my mom really opened my eyes and wanted me to do better for myself. Just, you know, seeing all the sacrifice she put in for me and my little sister. And I mean, I'm just blessed to be in the position I am.
MAADDI: How long did you do that for work with her, just to see kind of her day-to-day and what you were doing and was it just through college like senior, last year? When was it?
WATSON: Um, so when I signed my letter of intent to, um, USC, my, you know, USC is a private school. So as I was in junior college, my classes weren't transferable and I already had signed, so I had the redshirt. And once I redshirted, that's when I went back for a year with my mom. And I was just depressed. I was at probably the lowest state of my life. And my mom was like, you got to get a job. You just can't sit around the house and be sad. And I was looking for jobs, and I couldn't find one. So I ended up having to work with my mom and just getting the first eye view of my mom putting in all the hard work. I might do like eight hours in a day. I go home sore. I'm tired. And I'm looking like, how does she do these 45, 50 hour weeks every week and it just put everything in perspective for me and it really made me want to go do something positive with my life.
MAADDI: When you're out there now and you're looking back, does it make you work even harder when and I'm sure you're as motivated as you can be to continue to have success and play for that next contract and play everything else. But just thinking about those days, does it kind of push you even further?
WATSON: Yeah, I would say, though, that year made me the man I am today. it completely flipped my life like 360. I was always, you know, going in the wrong direction or not doing things I was supposed to do, whether that was missing a class or not turning in homework. And then once I took that year off, my GPA dropped and I was at like a 1.9. So the only way for me to get D-I eligible again was to get seven A's. I couldn't get a B, and I had to take 24 credits in one semester. And I got straight A's, so once I did that, I knew I could do anything I put my mind to.
MAADDI: Pro Picks had a clean sweep last week, 4-0, 4-0. We're 21-6-1 straight up, 20-8 against the spread. Best bets and upset specials are 12-2 outright, 11-3 against the number. My best bet this week is a team with a losing record. I'm looking at 2-4 Houston at home against 5-2 San Francisco. The Texans are actually favorites by 1.5 points coming off a Monday night loss in Seattle. That tells me they're the play. The 49ers are 4-1 with Mac Jones filling in for Brock Purdy. They've got Christian McCaffrey doing everything for an offense that's been missing several receivers. And the defense, even without stars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, they were excellent against Atlanta on Sunday night. Meanwhile, Houston's offense has held the team back. Their defense has been solid, but that offensive line still can't protect CJ Stroud. The run game is lacking. The 49er, however, are 1-13 against the spread in their last 14 games following a win. The Texans desperately need this. I'm taking Houston, 23-18. This was a week where I didn't love any of the upsets, but I'm gonna go with this one. Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers host the Packers. Rodgers already beat the Jets, one of his former teams. The Packers are a much tougher opponent. Micah Parsons had three sacks last week. He'll harass Rodgers all night, but the Packers haven't been dominant since week one. They lost to the Browns, they tied the Cowboys, they had a rally to beat the Cardinals last week. The Steelers have extra rest, following a loss to the Bengals on Thursday night. Green Bay's a three-point favorite. I'm going Steelers 24-23. Here's another game where the line is screaming at me. The Bears are 4-2. The Ravens are 1-5. But it's the Ravens who are six and a half point favorites. Chicago getting no respect. Ben Johnson has led the Bears to four straight wins. DeAndre Swift is running wild. The defense is forcing a ton of turnovers. And even with Caleb Williams inconsistent, the Bears are winning games. The Raven's are coming off a bye that they really needed. They've been decimated by injuries. They should have Lamar Jackson back. They better have Lamar Jackson back, otherwise I'm not taking this game. But with Lamar Jackson back and he practiced this week. Baltimore can't afford another loss. They were a Super Bowl favorite. They're now trying to avoid 1-6. I've got Ravens, 29-21. Last of the four pack, Buccaneers, 5-2. New Orleans, 1-6. Buccaneers minus-five points favorite on the road. Baker Mayfield coming off his worst game of the season. The Bucs need to get healthy. They got a bye coming up. They just can't avoid to look past the struggling Saints and Mayfield and Todd Coles won't let them. Buccaneers, 26-17.
That's it for this week. Thank you to Jaylen Watson. Thank you for listening to On Football and thanks to Mike Hempen and Guillermo Gonzalez for producing this episode. Please check out APNews.com for the full Pro Picks, On Football analysis and more NFL news.
Source: "AOL Sports"
Source: VoXi MAG
Full Article on Source: VoXi MAG
#LALifestyle #USCelebrities