Chiefs finally get long-awaited look at dream secondary as camp ends

On paper, the Kansas City Chiefs had to be excited about the potential of their secondary, especially at cornerback. So far in training camp, however, injuries have made it quite difficult to evaluate such promise given that the unit has yet to practice together as envisioned.

On Wednesday, the 17th and final training camp practice in St. Joseph, Missouri, the Chiefs finally got a look at their hoped-for defensive backfield.

The Chiefs welcomed back cornerback Jaylen Watson to the practice field as the team wrapped up camp for another summer. Watson had missed several days due to a concussion, and it was heartening to see the fourth-year DB working once again with his teammates.

Jaylen Watson's return from injury gives the Chiefs a brief glimpse at the hoped-for secondary in training camp.

Watson's absence came at an unfortunate time in terms of roster evaluation and unit chemistry since Kristian Fulton had finally made his way onto the practice field. Fulton had missed nearly all of camp after starting the summer on the Chiefs' Physically Unable to Play list due to a knee injury, but he was able to return to the field on Monday for a full practice, giving him a few days with other defensive backs.

Together with Trent McDuffie, Watson and Fulton form the primary nucleus of a young, talented cornerback group expected to carry the load for a championship-caliber defense. However, given the absences of two of the three primary starters for various lengths of time, the Chiefs have been forced to substitute other players and/or shift players like McDuffie from where they'd like to play them.

As for Watson, this upcoming season is an important one as a contract year for the former seventh-round pick. Even if Watson's injury history doesn't allow him to break the bank, there's little doubt that Watson will earn a multi-year deal with a signficant escalation in salary from the four-year, $3,745,372 deal given to him as a slotted rookie deal.

Training camp might be over, but the Chiefs still have a few weeks and two preseason games to get through before taking the field on Friday, September 5 for the regular-season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers in São Paulo, Brazil. That means, if everyone stays healthy, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo should have time to see if the plan of attack makes sense.