Philadelphia Eagles fans shouldn’t forget about Quez Watkins

In the world of sports, there is an old saying, speed kills. Oftentimes, the faster players in the league rank among the most dangerous. While the Philadelphia Eagles front office made it a goal to add speed in the 2021 NFL Draft, general manager Howie Roseman and his merry men started the process a year earlier. They selected three speedy wideouts and a couple of guys that can run on defense (Davion Taylor for instance).

On the offensive side of the ball, Jalen Reagor gets most of the media attention. Still, it’s another wide receiver with the tools to be just as explosive if not more so.

That player is wideout Quez Watkins, the six-foot 190-pound deep threat out of Southern Miss. While playing at the NCAA level, Watkins was a constant threat to score from just about anywhere on the field. He’s also capable of running most routes to perfection.

The Alabama native would finish his college career with 159 receptions for 2,404 yards, and 17 touchdowns. That led to an All-Conference USA nod two years in a row. Needless to say, the young star has a ton of potential.

The Philadelphia Eagles may have a rising star in Quez Watkins.

For the uninitiated, the Eagles selected Watkins in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. That came as a bit of a surprise as some expected he’d be long gone by the start of the third day, but luckily for the Philadelphia Eagles, Watkins would fall right into their laps with the 200th-overall selection.

Heading into camp, fans and media didn’t express a ton of hopes for the sixth-rounder as all of the attention was on Jalen Reagor. Moving forward, Watkins didn’t do anything to really separate himself from the pack. That was alarming seeing how badly the Eagles receiver corps had performed throughout most of 2020’s season.

Despite receiving mixed reviews, Watkins has his coaches excited. He may have only scored one touchdown (heck, John Hightower didn’t even do that),  but Quez’s was a pretty one. He took a quick screen the distance versus the Arizona Cardinals after making a few defenders miss, but here’s something that also doesn’t get discussed much. Watkins also averaged a little over 15 yards per reception.

Those are things that the Philadelphia Eagles’ new coaching staff can work with. While Quez Watkins may not have gotten a ton of opportunities, he possesses all the tools to be a true star in the National Football League. He has great hands. He continues to get better at his craft, and he has the one weapon that will always be to an offense’s advantage, pure speed.

Say it again if it didn’t sink in the first time your read it. Speed kills. With that in mind, we should all look for Quez Watkins to leave a few bodies in his wake during the upcoming season.