Former CHS standout Tre Watson to sign with the Chiefs as a UDFA

RIO RANCHO — Cleveland High School graduate Tre Watson is signing with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent.

“I’m beyond blessed and grateful for the opportunity. I’m just looking forward to getting there and getting to work. It’s been a long time coming,” Watson said.

Watson, who played collegiately at Fresno State and Texas A&M, is the first Storm player to make it to the NFL.

“Tre was special all along. His approach to everything he has done to this point has been elite. He is just built different. He took our football program at Cleveland to a new level many didn’t think was attainable. His humility and willingness to put his teammates first is what makes him such an asset to any team he is on,” said Heath Ridenour, who coached Watson during his time at Cleveland.

During his collegiate career, Watson was used in-line and as a slot weapon and caught five touchdowns, including a four-touchdown season in 2023 while at Fresno St.

“Tre is living his dream because he was dedicated to the process to achieve his dream. I anticipate that drive and focus to only become enhanced in the NFL. He deserves all of the success that he receives. Needless to say, we are all excited to see him play in the NFL for years to come,” Ridenour said.

Watson joins a tight end room in Kansas City that includes Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, Jared Wiley, Baylor Cupp, Robert Tonyan and Anthony Firkser.

Chiefs longtime head coach Andy Reid tends to favor a deep tight end room and uses a lot of “jumbo” or “full house” alignments, which use three tight ends.