Quez Watkins Aiming to Build off Strong 2021 Season, Especially in Slot
PHILADELPHIA – Quez Watkins had the kind of season that had his coach, Nick Sirianni, touting him as a No. 2 receiver.
Then the team traded for A.J. Brown and signed Zach Pascal.
The Eagles didn’t stop adding, and now there are 12 pass-catchers on the roster, with additions such as Devon Allen, Britain Covey, Josh Hammond, and others.
Obviously, Watkins isn’t in any jeopardy of being pushed out by any of them, and really what difference does it make if you are considered a No. 1, 2, or 3?
The Eagles want to throw the ball more this year and be successful at doing it. They tried early last season, failed, then became a running offense.
This year, they will try again and have added the pieces to do it, with Brown being at the head of the class.
“I loved it, honestly,” said Watkins on Wednesday about the draft-night trade that landed Brown from Tennessee. “He’s an extra guy in the room, an extra threat in the room, so for us, it’s just going to be dynamic.
“My role doesn’t change. We’re all going to compete and we’re all going to do our part as one of 11 on the field, so my role is not going to change. I’m going to continue to do what I do.”
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What Watkins did a season ago was make the most of his 62 targets, catching 43 of them for 647 yards with one touchdown. That’s a 15.0 yards per catch average.
The interesting part of those totals is that more than half of his yards came from the slot, a position that had been foreign to him until he arrived in Philadelphia as a sixth-round pick in 2020, the 200th player taken overall.
“Last year, it helped me get out of my comfort zone,” he said about moving inside more. “I played outside my whole career but moving in the slot got me out of my comfort zone and I’m able to go inside, go outside and able to do both. It’s just another look for me.”
The adjustment wasn’t easy to see sitting in the stands or watching on TV, but there is certainly one that needed to be made.
Quez Watkins
USA Today
Watkins watched film o some NFL receivers who go in and out of the slot, such as Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp, and Keenan Allen.
“We’re all different, but I know me, I’m fast, but I need to learn from them how to slow myself down,” he said. “Inside it was just finding my way through certain defenders. Outside I’m just going through one corner. I just have one man to beat. Inside it’s like an obstacle course. Outside I can use more of my speed.”
Asked if his speed edge is negated somewhat when he moves inside, Watkins said: “Not as much, but I’ve learned how to actually play faster in it, so when I was learning I would play at a slower pace. I know how to pick up my speed, but I feel like as I went on, I learned a lot being in the slot.”
His versatility to play inside and out is a similar skill set that Pascal possesses. Brown can also toggle back and forth. In theory, that kind of flexibility should make the Eagles more difficult to match up against because it can give so many different looks.
“It’s about trust,” said Watkins. “The first year, we were learning, feeling each other out. This year, it’s like we got our trust in, we got our foot in the door, now we unleash.
"We understand each other better as a group, as a whole offense, we understand each other a whole lot better. We know what we’re capable of.”
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
