For this Chiefs rookie, a Mother’s Day story: Cherish your mom, but don’t work for her
On the second day of the Chiefs’ annual three-day rookie minicamp in Kansas City, a seventh-round draft selection shared a Mother’s Day lesson:
Don’t work for your mom.
Don’t get cornerback Jaylen Watson wrong. He loves his mother. She an inspiration, a fountain of encouragement for all of his dreams.
“I wanted to be an actor, a rapper, whatever, she was always there to support me,” Watson said. “She’s like my super-woman.”
She also was there for her son when his college football path took an unexpected turn. The first stop for Watson, from his Augusta, Georgia home, was Ventura College, a two-year school in California. He excelled there and signed with USC.
But an academic obstacle forced a detour, and Watson returned home.
The plan was to take a year off and regroup. Watson returned to Augusta but couldn’t find a job. Then came the offer from Mom, who was the manager at a local Wendy’s: Come to work for me.
With limited options, the son was added to Mom’s work payroll at $7.25 an hour, and, well ...
“I love her to death, but it was terrible,” Watson said. “You get no breaks from your mom. You go to work, you’re with your mom. You go home, your with your mom. You can’t even talk about work.
“But I still love her.”
And he appreciates her even more now.
“Just seeing all the sacrifices she put in, to get me and my sister everything we wanted,” he said, “it kind of make me push harder and strive to be something in my life.”
Eventually, Watson’s westward path was reestablished when he signed with Washington State. The pandemic limited the Cougars to four games in 2020, but he was selected All-Pac-12 honorable mention.
He repeated that honor for the 2021 season, as Washington State played a more complete schedule, and gained the attention of the NFL. Scouts liked his 6-foot-3, 204-pound frame and 4.51 speed in the 40 yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Watson visited with Chiefs officials before the April 28-30 NFL Draft and knew Kansas City was where he wanted to play. A physical presence, he likes the press coverage preferred by Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
Also, cornerback was becoming a Chiefs position of need with the departure of Charvarius Ward as a free agent.
But as the draft unfolded, Watson grew uneasy. The Chiefs entered the three-day selection process with 12 picks but shed one of them in trading up to select another cornerback, Trent McDuffie — from Watson’s college rival, Washington — at No. 21 overall.
In the fourth round, the Chiefs took another 6-3 cornerback, Joshua Williams from Fayetteville State.
The fifth-round passed. Were the Chiefs, who didn’t have a sixth-round pick, finished at corner?
“It was so nerve-wracking,” Watson said. “I wasn’t expecting to go that late. I was kind of down. Everyone’s telling me to stay off the phone because I’m looking at every draft pick on Day 3.”
Watson and a friend left the small party at home, retreated to a car and listened to some music. Then his phone buzzed and he saw an 816 area code.
“Our eyes got super-big,” Watson said.
With the 243rd overall pick, the Kansas City Chiefs select ...
“I started running full speed down the street,” Watson said. “Everyone in the house was like, “Who is it?”
The team that Watson had hoped would call was on the phone. Suddenly he was speaking with Chiefs general manager Brett Veach, and then with Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.
“I really wanted to go to Kansas City,” Watson said. “I love winning. What’s more of a winning place than Kansas City? I’m just happy. I can make my mom proud.”
This story was originally published May 8, 2022 at 5:13 PM.