Dekoda Watson is in his 7th season in the NFL, through his entire career he has 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. In three games with the Broncos he has 4 sacks, 1 safety, and 1 forced fumble. Safe to say the Broncos will be keeping him around. Even if they have to carry an extra LB.
Watson coming out of college was regarded as a guy who had tremendous speed, almost like the hybrid linebacker/safeties we see making an impact on several teams now, but was originally drafted into an era in defense where he didn't quite fit into many schemes. He was regarded as a tweener and was ultimately drafted by the Buccaneers to play in their cover 2 defense in 2010. He managed to play in 61 games with the Buccaneers over his 4 year rookie contract, starting occasionally over that time. He managed to amass:
106 tackles, 3 sacks, 4 tipped passes, and 1 int. Including his final season in Tampa (2013), in which he played in 15 games racking up a career highs with 42 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 int. Also tipping 1 pass. After that year he wound up in Jacksonville where they apparently can't spot talent at LB. Ironically enough a year after Brandon Marshall signed with Denver, Watson was signed to replace him in Jacksonville but he lasted just 9 games before they released him, during that stretch he had just 14 tackles. He finished the 2014 season appearing in a game with the Cowboys just a week after he had played them as a member of the Jaguars. 2015 he was a member of the Patriots playing on a team that uses any defense they can based on their personnel but still managed just 3 games and 2 tackles.
It begins to paint a picture that Wade Phillips is the kind of coach that can take a player and help him achieve the best within himself. In just 3 preseason games Watson has 9 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 safety, and 1 forced fumble. He is coming off of a game in which he had 4 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
