Speed kills, and the lack of speed at wide receiver killed the Philadelphia Eagles last season, especially when DeSean Jackson went down with injury in Week 2, but after the NFL draft, that may have changed, especially with the addition of WR Quez Watkins.
The Eagles selected Southern Mississippi’s Watkins in the sixth round on Saturday. The 22-year-old Watkins is fast and ran a 4.35 40 at the combine. Watkins was a two-time All-Conference USA first-team wide receiver, and in 2019, he caught 64 passes for 1178 yards and six touchdowns.
Now, Watkins gets to play with another speed guy in Jackson, who Watkins feels he could learn a lot from this season.
Oh, man. DeSean(Jackson) has really been one of my role models as a receiver as a speed guy, kind of a similar body style,” Watkins said. “Really just ready to start learning and getting a lot of stuff, getting a lot of knowledge from him.
In addition to Watkins, the Eagles grabbed two other wide receivers in the draft with speed in Jalen Reagor and John Hightower, and they added another speed guy in WR Marquise Goodwin from the 49ers in a trade. According to Watkins, all that speed is going to make for some interesting practices.
“The practices are going to be, I feel like, up-tempo, and you’re going to see a lot of guys just flying around,” Watkins said. “A lot of 4.3 guys really flying around. A lot speed, a lot of playmakers,”
Due to injury, wide receiver was a sore spot for the Eagles last season, and if these young players can contribute right away, and DeSean Jackson can stay healthy, the wide receiver position could become a strength for Philadelphia in 2020.
