There aren’t charts, metrics, or game tapes that can measure a persons drive or their passion to succeed. You may say that determining ones desire is unquantifiable.
The challenges of having many opportunities available while being raised in a small town are sometimes slim. Leaving college for academic reasons and having to make your way back is very humbling. It takes determination and the acceptance of a difficult situation. Declaring for the NFL draft while playing at a smaller school and having limited exposure of being noticed is also hard. All are formidable obstacles to overcome, but not insurmountable. Just ask Quez, who is living up to the meaning of his name “Self possessed, with purpose, self reliable, responsible”.
Quez is from from Athens, Alabama. A small town with approximately 21,000 people. He has stated how that molded his desire to succeed “I put a whole lot of pressure on myself, coming from where I’m coming from, a small city, not a lot of opportunities. So, for me to have this opportunity, it’s great. I know all my people back home are counting on me.” And he learned from his previous life experiences how to succeed when facing adversity.
Watkins was a red shirt sophomore during the 2018 season where he amassed a team leading 72 receptions for 889 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. After his breakout season he had to leave Southern Miss during the spring semester to improve upon his academics. He enrolled in a junior college near Athens. “There was a perception out there, ‘Well, he got kicked out of school for academics, he must not be very smart, very bright.’ That’s not the case, the guy (Quez) and he’ll tell you this, he was lazy in the classroom”. Scotty Walden (2019 co-offensive coordinator at Southern Miss) in a Zoom interview with NBC. “For whatever reason, that just wasn’t his cup of tea. He didn’t wake up thinking about going to math class every day. That’s just not what fired Quez up. What fired him up was going out and catching post routes for touchdowns.” The reality of losing football hit home. And he started taking his courses more seriously.
“During that time I didn’t have nobody in my corner. (I) felt like I didn’t have nobody in my corner. So I had to grow up as a man and take care of my business” Quez did have one person in his corner. Walden stated that he didn’t recruit any other receivers and was confident Quez would re-enroll with a new found purpose. “It made me grow up” It made me more passionate about the game and love the game and not take anything for granted.” And the results were evident immediately. Watkins was now being seen walking around campus with a backpack, something he hadn’t been noticed doing before. In addition to taking his studies more serious, he was doing the same with his nutrition and hydration. Walden stated that Southern Miss requires their receivers to have water bottles with them at all time (something Quez hadn’t complied with in the past) but he was now.
“To me, that’s a change. That’s a big change,” Walden said. “That’s when I knew that this kid is coming back on a mission. He had the mindset that, ‘I’m not going to take it for granted. Because football was taken away from me and I didn’t know what I was going to do. I got it back now and I’m not going to let it slip out of my hands.” Quez agreed “It made me more passionate about the game and love the game and not take anything for granted.” And the results did not end with water, nutrition and good grades. The changes also carried over to the field.
The unquantifiable Quez had a game plan when he returned for his Junior season in 2019 and he was executing it to perfection. Quez had 1178 yards and six touchdowns. He was also a first team All Conference USA selection. “My goal was to put up the numbers that I did and leave early,” Watkins said. “After this season, I talked with both my parents, my coaches and everyone. I felt like I was ready to go and it was time for me to take my talents to the next level.” Watkins did indeed leave Southern Miss second all-time on the Golden Eagles’ receiving yards list with 2,404 yards (passing former Eagles WR Todd Pinkston). And declared for the NFL draft.
Watkins’ pro day came and went without much chatter, outside of draft circles. He ran a 4.35 in the 40 yard dash, second only to Henry Ruggs out of all the wide receivers in the 2020 draft. “It was good to size up and compare everyone, and see everybody live and in-person,I wanted to see If there was a big difference between them and me. I didn’t see that.” He didn’t feel that he was behind anyone despite coming from a smaller school “They were just at bigger schools, better opportunities and in better situations. I feel like I compare with anyone, it just made me more competitive. I know I’m equal to these guys,” Watkins said.
Quez said that he kept focused and to himself during his time at the combine, but he did make friends with a few of the receivers and also one QB. He made a real connection with current Eagles QB Jalen Hurts during workouts leading up to the combine in Indianapolis. Quez talked about their relationship “He’s a competitive guy and people doubt what he can do,” Watkins said. “It’s something we have in common. People doubt us and how we can perform. He went to Alabama and I’m from Alabama.” (Neither had any idea that both would be drafted by the Eagles and that a season later they would both be starting and still making that connection on the field.)“Honestly it was just crazy that we ended up at the same place. After I got drafted he texted me saying ‘Congrats, but the work is yet done. We still have a lot of work to do’. I talked to him to see if we could link back up and get more work in, and to just bond with him.”
When Quez was drafted in the 6th round of the 2020 draft, yet again, he and the selection went largely unnoticed. Nobody knew, outside of Southern Miss fans, the intangibles and deep play ability he was bringing to the Eagles. In fact, most beat writers didn’t even believe he would make the roster, much less become a significant part of the offensive play calling.
Quez recalled when Philadelphia made the pick that would make him an NFL player. “They called me and asked if I was ready to be an Eagle, and I am. I’m ready to show the world and show them that I can play ball and help this team win games. I really feel like God has a plan. You really can’t question his plan. I was trying to be patient and wait on a call. When it came, I knew it was for me. I feel like Philadelphia is somewhere I can succeed and really show my talent. I know how affectionate the organization is with their fans, I know how much involved they are and really everybody around Philadelphia,”
His rookie season results fluctuated, mainly due to playing time. He only had 119 snaps on offense. He was never targeted by Carson Wentz, and had only 20 of those 119 snaps during the first three months of the season. When Jalen Hurts took over versus the Saints in week 13, Quez started to make the most of his opportunities. Over the final four games of the season he was targeted 13 times, bringing in 7 receptions for 106 yards and one touchdown. He also excited the fan base with 2 of those receptions (one of those a 32 yd TD against the Cardinals) being over 30 yards, bringing some much needed big play ability to the offense. Watkins averaged a robust 17.7 yards per catch.
Extrapolating those statistics over a full season roughly translates to 35 receptions for 575 yards and 5 touchdowns. Not bad for a sixth round draft pick out of South Mississippi who was brought in with little to no fan fare. Assuming he could put up those numbers over the course of a season may be bit ambitious considering these numbers are based off such a small sample size, and likely as a 3rd or 4th receiver option. But Quez demonstrated a quick burst, good hands, and lots of confidence. Most of the offseason was spent with fans fantasizing about the potential of DeVonta Smith, rightly so, and Watkins was rarely being mentioned. He seemed to be the forgotten weapon. He attacked year two (with a full offseason)to not only stay on the roster, but to start. “This whole offseason I just made everything personal. Everything people said I couldn’t do. ‘I was only fast.’ I just made everything personal and put the work in.”
Once again, rarely reported, were the off season workouts he was doing with Brown’s TopShelf Performance. Their roster of NFL receivers includes a wideout you may have heard of, Calvin Ridley. Watkins spoke about what he was learning from TopShelf and Calvin “Really learning how to get in and out of my breaks, staying low, consistently staying low in and out of my routes, no matter what route it is. And just getting in and out as fast as possible.” Brown remembers when the training and hard work Quez was putting in, started showing. In July of 2021 Watkins and former first round pick Jerry Jeudy were competing with some NFL defensive backs who were also in the Atlanta area where they were training. Brown said “When we did those 1on 1’s and he embarrassed the DB’s, I said ‘Oh Yeah, you ready little bro’.
The results immediately showed on the field during the first pre season game where he had 79 yard TD reception against the Steelers. After his big pre season game against Pitt “One thing I was thinking about, though, as I walked up here was he (Watkins) isn’t a secret anymore,” Hurts said. “So, that’s unfortunate.”
It didnt take long for his big play ability to translate to the regular season either. In week 4 against the San Francisco 49ers Quez reeled in a 91 yd reception from Jalen Hurts(51 yards in the air), and per Next Gen Stats reached a top speed of 21.62 mph. The fastest in the NFL so far this season. Thorugh the first 10 games of the 2021 campaign, Quez has 28 receptions for 408 yards ( a 15.7 yard per catch average).
He is also starting to get more opportunities (has started to play more snaps than Reagor) and is getting open down the field on a consistent basis. His blazing speed and ball tracking ability is better than anyone the Eagles have had since DeSean Jackson. The future is bright.
Full circle. This offseason Quez went back to to his small home town where he hosted a football camp at his Athens High School. “Just being able to do this and have this type of impact on these kids, just to see these kids smile and have fun running around and stuff, that warms my heart, honestly. That’s really what I do it for. It really shocked me how many people came out. I’m really glad with how it turned out. I see all these kids screaming my name and standing up ready to ask me questions, it’s a great feeling.”
Once again, you can’t measure what’s in someones heart. So don’t be left wondering how you weren’t able to quantify how good number 16 was going to be. And like Quez has stated on his twitter page @Mronesx_
“Don’t be a fan later…”
As always, thanks for reading.
David
12–21–21
Follow me @PHLEagleNews