The Philadelphia Eagles selected Quez Watkins, Wide Receiver, out of the University of Southern Mississippi. He was the 21st pick of the sixth round and was the 29th wide receiver drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Biography
Quez Watkins is 6’0” and 185 pounds. He played three years at Southern Miss and will be 22 years old at the beginning of the 2020 NFL season. Watkins redshirted his first year on campus. He’s second all-time in school history for both career receptions and receiving yards.
College Production
Quez Watkins broke out at the age of 20 (age during their first season with a 20% receiving dominator rating) in his second season at University of Southern Mississippi. Watkins’s best season was his redshirt-senior season at 21 years old. Watkins had 64 catches, for 1,179 receiving yards, and six scrimmage touchdowns for a receiving dominator rating (average percentage of their team’s receiving yards and receiving touchdowns) of 39.6% (76th percentile). Watkins had superb age-adjusted production. He averaged 805.3 scrimmage yards (71st percentile) and 5.7 scrimmage touchdowns (60th percentile) per season for an average scrimmage dominator rating (average percentage of their team’s scrimmage yards and scrimmage touchdowns) per season of 16.9% (79th percentile). Watkins was incredibly efficient as well and averaged 0.95 scrimmage yards per team play (76th percentile). Additionally, Watkins executed on special teams. He had 37 returns, for 543 return yards, and one return touchdown.
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Athleticism
[profiler]QuezWatkins[profiler]
Quez Watkins has an excellent height-adjusted speed score of 101.9 (75th percentile) after running a 4.35-second 40-yard time at the NFL Combine. He has a great burst score of 124.6 (71st percentile) but a poor agility score of 11.64 (89th percentile). Watkins is a speed receiver with excellent quickness as well. He profiles as more of a finesse receiver but has enough size to play out of the slot.
NFL Landing Spot
Philadelphia Eagles: One of the better landing spots for a rookie. 2019’s 12th rank offense. The Eagles ran more plays than any other offense, and threw on 58.9% of those plays. Carson Wentz’s 93.1 was good for 13th best, and he was above league average targeting most of the field. The Eagles only had one receiver play in all 16 of their games. JJ Arcega Whiteside had all the opportunity in the world, but the Stanford second round pick only managed to garner 22 receptions and was largely unimpressive. Zach Ertz remains the focal point of this passing attack, leading in targets in 2018 and 2019. Second year pro Dallas Goedert brought in the second most targets, seeing 87 to Ertz’ 135, meaning that the TE position accounted for 36% of the team’s targets. RB Miles Sanders drew a 10% target share. Alshon Jeffrey remains the WR1 for this team, but he has never been able to recapture his 2014 brillance, is coming off a big injury, has worn out his welcome in Philly and is a frequent target of trade speculation. DeSean Jackson remains a deep threat, but his health remains a concern and the Eagles can move on from him after this season. Greg Ward rounds out this WR depth chart that is composed entirely of injury cases, trade candidates, possible draft busts and practice squad players.
***Editor’s Note*** The Philadelphia Eagles selected Jalen Reagor in the first round of the draft and John Hightower in the fifth round.
Rivals’ Rapid Analysis
Quez Watkins had exceptional age-adjust production combined with excellent speed and burst. His speed and quickness will allow him to turn short passes into big gains while also being able to stretch the field for chunk plays. The Philadelphia Eagles did not spend a significant amount of draft capital to acquire Watkins. He has a solid opportunity and will compete with Justin Jefferson, Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and John Hightower for targets from Carson Wentz and possibly Jalen Hurts.
Quez Watkins is in Dave’s fifth wide receiver tier, his WR20, and 36th-40th ranked rookie overall. Dave would target Watkins at the round three-four turn (mid-third round in single QB). Watkins has everything you want in a smaller school prospect. He has solid age-adjusted production, athleticism, and a soft wide receiver depth chart in Philadelphia. He’s more attractive for fantasy purposes than the previous seven wide receivers taken before him in the NFL Draft. This includes fellow teammate John Hightower. Watkins is a sleeper worth targeting in the late-third or early-fourth rounds of superflex rookie drafts.
Quez Watkins is in Shawn’s fifth wide receiver tier, Shawns WR21, and Shawn’s Overall Rookie Rank 38. Shawn would target Watkins in the late fourth round of superflex and single QB rookie drafts.Philly’s depth chart was one the weakest in football coming into the draft. The Eagles did add other receivers for him, but Reagor is the only one with a guaranteed spot. Watkins could play in front of 2019 working class hero Greg Ward, 2019 flameout Arcega-Whiteside, and fellow draftee John Hightower. When it comes to late round dart throws, Watkins is one of the better bets.
This article was written in collaboration with Shawn Kennedy. For more analysis check out Dave and Shawn’s previous articles at Dynasty Football Factory. Additionally, you can also find Dave’s dynasty superflex rankings at Dynasty Football Factory. Stay tuned for more rookie wide receiver rapid reaction articles from us throughout the entire NFL Draft. We will also give you instant reactions for priority UDFA wide receivers to help you try and find the next Adam Thielen. Interact with Dave and Shawn on Twitter @ff_spaceman and @ff_walrus. You can listen to our rivalry on our podcast @ATaleofTwoRivals with @ff_banterman.
Information found in this article was gathered from @ff_spaceman’s College Prospect Database, PlayerProfiler.com, Sports-Reference.com, AirYards.com, and a prospect’s college team website.
