The Eagles plan on running it back next season, at least on offense. With Howie Roseman prioritizing a contract extension for Jalen Hurts and by resigning Jason Kelce to a 1-year deal, 9 of the Birds’ 11 starters are set to return for the 2023 season, including receiver Quez Watkins. Despite a disappointing season last year, the Eagles remain committed to Watkins.
A Need for Speed
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Quez Watkins in the 6th round (200th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. Watkins, who was drafted for his lightning speed, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds, the 3rd fastest time of his draft class. Only wide-receiver Henry Ruggs III and cornerback Javelin Guidry posted better times. Watkins is fast! He is by far the fastest player on the Eagles’ active roster. Receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith ran a 4.49 and 4.48, respectively, just to give you a better sense of Watkins’ top speed.
Watkins speed allows him to run past defenders with ease. He can beat man-to-man coverage with his quick burst and is able to exploit open areas in zone coverage. On paper, you would run Watkins on vertical routes 90% of the time, but that’s not the case in practice. Watkins isn’t just fast, he is also quick. He cuts on a dime, which makes him invaluable in the slot. He is just as effective on intermediate routes as he is on vertical routes.
Speed is Good, but Catches are Better
Watkins is fast, but he’s not perfect. Due to a lack of physicality, Watkins struggles against press coverage. He doesn’t catch well in traffic and isn’t likely to take big hits. His route-running is overly simplistic and his ball-awareness is questionable at best. There have been times where he completely loses track of the deep ball costing the Birds an easy touchdown.
After a promising sophomore season, Quez struggled to make an impact in year 3. Waktins’ job isn’t to outshine fellow receivers Brown and Smith. His job is to simply catch passes thrown his way. Last season, Watkins caught 33 receptions on 51 targets. He is credited with 14 failed receptions. His 42.4% failed completion rate ranks second worst in the NFL.
Missed Opportunities
Watkins had his share of missed opportunities last year, one that cost the Eagles’ their undefeated record and another that potentially cost the Birds their second Superbowl ring. Here are the lowlights:
Week 10 against the Commanders – Down 26-21 with less than 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter, a wide-open Watkins caught a bomb from Jalen Hurts for a big gain. Watkins, who fell down while making the catch (more trouble locating the ball), was then stripped when he got up. The loss cost the Birds their undefeated record.
Week 15 against the Bears – Hurts overthrew Watkins, who came out of his break late, resulting in a Bears’ interception. Watkins poorly timed his route and looked lost on the play.
Week 16 against the Cowboys – Gardner Minshew was credited with 2 interceptions against the Cowboys, but what’s not recorded on the stat sheet is Quez’s weak play. Both interceptions came on passes intended for Watkins. Not only did Watkins fail to go up to catch the passes in traffic, he also failed to prevent the defenders from making a play on the ball.
Superbowl LVII against the Chiefs – The biggest missed opportunity of all, Watkins dropped a deep ball from Jalen Hurts in the third quarter of the Eagles’ 38-35 loss to the Chiefs. Had Watkins made the catch, the Birds would have had a fresh set of downs at the 10-yard line. Instead the Eagles had to settle for a field goal in a game where touchdowns made all the difference.
Doubling-Down on Watkins
Despite coming off of a poor season, the Eagles seem content with sticking with Quez Watkins in the slot. Over his first three seasons in the NFL, Watkins played 40 games and recorded 1,107 yards on 83 receptions. He scored 5 receiving touchdowns and 4 rushing touchdowns. These are not terrible numbers.
Watkins saw a reduced role last year with A.J. Brown joining the team and Devonta Smith stepping up. TE Dallas Goedert and WR Zach Pascal also took some market share away from the speedy receiver. Watkins, who played all 17 games the last two seasons, had 62 targets in 2021 compared to 51 targets in 2022. His completion rate went from 70% in 2021 to 65% in 2022. Not only did he have less opportunities last year, he also did less with those opportunities then the year prior.
“I would say the opportunity, I would say the difference this year and last year was opportunity. He didn’t have as many opportunities. We tried to be up front about that as much as we can….So I think what he was probably frustrated with is that he didn’t make the amount of plays that he made last year.”
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni ON Wide-Receiver Quez Watkins
With Zach Pascal inking a 2-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals this off-season, Watkins will get another shot to secure his role in the slot. Despite some well-known free agent receivers still on the board including Kenny Golladay, Robbie Anderson, Randall Cobb, Julio Jones, Jarvis Landry and Sammy Watkins, Roseman seems perfectly fine with running-it-back with Quez. All of the aforementioned receivers are north of 29 years of age, while Watkins is only 24 with plenty of upside.
Despite all of his faults, Watkins is still a home run hitter capable of burning just about any cornerback or safety on the field. In case you forgot, take a look at this 91-yard bomb from Hurts to Watkins against the 49ers back in 2021. This highlight alone should give Eagles fans plenty of optimism heading into next season.
