Former Washington State defensive backs and current Kansas City Chiefs Jaylen Watson and Jaden Hicks will play in Super Bowl 59 against the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday in New Orleans.

The pair of young defensive backs are putting Wazzu on the map, giving Cougar fans players to root for in the big game.

Watson is in his third season playing cornerback with the Chiefs and will play for his third straight championship, while Hicks is a rookie safety playing for his first ring. 

Hicks played in all 17 games in the 2024 regular season and totaled 23 solo tackles and 3 interceptions. Watson played in just six games in 2024 but finished with 21 tackles. He fractured his fibula in week seven and was placed on injured reserve until the divisional playoff game against the Texans.

Before being drafter to Kansas City, both players were standouts on the WSU defense during their time in Pullman.

Hicks played in 26 games for the Cougs, where he made 155 tackles, three interceptions, 3.5 sacks, 13 pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick. He was taken in the fourth round of the 2024 draft with the 133rd pick. 

Watson started every game he played during his tenure in Pullman, where he had 44 tackles with two for loss, five fumble recoveries, two interceptions, five pass breakups and one forced fumble. The two-time all-Pac-12 conference honorable mention selection was drafted in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft. 

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said he expects everyone in the Chiefs secondary to play with an “all hands on deck” mentality in the Super Bowl and Watson would play more after being “eased in” against Houston and Buffalo in the Chiefs first two playoff games.

Coug fans can stream Super Bowl 59 on Tubi, Fubo, DirecTV Stream, Sling TV, YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV.