Raiders NFL Draft Prospect: Jaylen Watson, Washington State

Washington State’s Jaylen Watson is looking to become the first Cougar cornerback drafted since 2005.

Washington State's Jaylen Watson is set to become the Cougars' first cornerback to be drafted in the NFL Draft since 2005.

The Washington State product spent his first two years in junior college before transferring to Wazzu.

“Watson is big and strong. He can be a physical presence when he's playing with patience from press coverage. With just two years of experience at the FBS level, he's predictably raw with his fundamentals, but the lack of agility and short-area quickness should be more than just short-term concerns. Currently, he's unable to stay in phase with quality route runners but does have physical traits that might warrant a practice squad stint for defenses reliant upon Cover 2 and/or Cover 3 schemes,” NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierleinsaid.

Projected as a late rounder, Watson can be a great selection for the Las Vegas Raiders, who at 6-3 and 204 pounds, Watson has great size and length for a prototypical cornerback in the NFL.

In his two seasons at Ventura College in Southern California, he was named Junior College Bureau All-American First Team, All-Northern Conference First Team, and helped Ventura win the Southern California Football Association Championship, where he was named Defensive Player of the Game.

Watson was committed to enrolling at USC after JUCO but did not enroll.

In 2021, he played in 12 games, recording a total of 31 tackles, one tackle for loss, two interceptions, three pass deflections, and four forced fumbles for the Cougars.

Watson is an opportunistic player who looks to capitalize on turnovers any way he can.

His stats are not surprisingly high because he wasn’t one to get targeted more than four times a game.

Watching his tape, he struggled to go against a good receiver when he was lined up against one of the best receivers in this year’s class, USC’s Drake London.

Other than London, Watson showed his versatility across the field, playing in multiple coverages.

Watson's strength, speed, and tackling were shown while playing in coverage, where he looked to mirror receivers well, not allowing them to run their routes and making sure he wrapped around the pass-catcher when they made a reception.

As a taller defender, he showed trouble sinking his hips. His tightness was displayed when changing direction at the line of scrimmage, and he allowed shiftier receivers to get open in space, especially on slants and in-breaking routes.

An opportunistic player, Watson looked to capitalize on turnovers any way he could.

If cornerback doesn't work out for him, he can be a potential candidate to move to safety for the Raiders.

The Raiders have met with Watson virtually, which shows the Raiders' interest in his position.

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