Former WSU stars Jaden Hicks, Jaylen Watson to play key roles for Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday’s Super Bowl
PULLMAN – Check out one of the most important plays from last month’s AFC Championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, and if you’ve followed Washington State football in the past few years, you might recognize a couple of players.
On a critical fourth down, lined up on defense for Kansas City were two former Cougars - safety Jaden Hicks and cornerback Jaylen Watson, both of whom have helped send the Chiefs to a third consecutive Super Bowl appearance, set for Sunday against Philadelphia. With a win, Kansas City can capture the league’s first three-peat in the Super Bowl era.
Fueling the Chiefs’ defense, which ranked fourth this season in points allowed, have been Hicks and Watson. Hicks was taken in the fourth round of last spring’s NFL draft with the No. 133 overall pick, and Watson was selected in the seventh round of the 2022 draft, the No. 243 overall.
Hicks starred at WSU in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Watson turned a two-year junior college career into a breakout 2021 season in Pullman, where he earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors. Hicks did the same in 2023, earning the best Pro Football Focus coverage grade among Pac-12 safeties for the season.
For the former Cougars, that has led to spots with the back-to-back defending Super Bowl champions. Watson, who recovered a key muffed punt in last year’s title game win over San Francisco, started the first six games of this season before going down with an ankle injury in Week 7. He returned for Kansas City’s divisional-round win over Houston on Jan. 18, in time to join his former WSU teammate in the secondary.
Hicks has seen his role increase in recent weeks. After playing sparingly in the first few weeks, Hicks had his first pro interception in an Oct. 20 win over the 49ers. Since Week 13, he’s been playing upward of 20 snaps per game: a combined 50 in Weeks 13 and 14; 41 in Week 15; 34 in Week 16; 53 in Week 17; and 74 in Week 18. In two playoff games, he’s played 50 snaps apiece.
He’s made the most of them, too. Hicks has totaled 29 tackles (23 solo), five passes defended and three interceptions, tops on the team. He picked off passes in back-to-back games, wins over Cleveland and Houston in Weeks 16 and 17, establishing consistent playing time .
“It’s been an absolute blessing,” Hicks told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Being around this group and this organization has been so helpful to my process and my growth. I couldn’t have asked for any better situation to step into. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
Because of his injury, a broken ankle that cost him 11 games, Watson has had a trickier season. He started each of the first six games, totaling 32 tackles (21 solo) and six passes defended. In a Week 4 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Watson didn’t allow a reception on five targets, giving him a PFF coverage grade of 89.6 – fourth best in the league among cornerbacks for that week.
It was a breath of fresh air for Watson, who wasn’t used to missing time with injuries.
“That was my first time ever being hurt and not being able to play football during the season,” Watson said during a Thursday media availability. “I don’t have a significant other right now, so you’re just at home bored, and I’m like, ‘Man, I have to get out of this house.’ ”
Watson returned from injury in time for Kansas City’s first playoff game, a divisional-round win over Houston, then played 52 snaps in the AFC title game win over Buffalo.
He made a combined four tackles in those contests, breaking up one pass against the Texans, a near interception in the fourth quarter.
Like the team he plays for, Watson is angling for his third straight Super Bowl title. His first year was 2022, bursting onto the scene with an interception return for touchdown in a Week 2 win over the Chargers, and the Chiefs knocked off the Eagles later that season for the championship.
Two years later, Kansas City and Philadelphia are back at center stage, and two former Cougars are playing key roles for one of the league’s sharpest defenses.