ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler revealed on Monday morning that Quez Watkins, whose once-promising Eagles career crashed and burned in a series of costly fumbles and drops, has signed with the Steelers.
The 25-year-old Watkins was selected by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He had limited action as a rookie, but in 2021 he broke out with 43 receptions for 647 yards and an average of 15.0 yards per catch. Since Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael was taken in the sixth round or later in 1971, that was the most yards by an Eagles wide receiver selected in the sixth round or later.
Watkins rose to prominence as a premier big-play receiver in the NFL quite rapidly. Between the middle of the 2022 season and the end of his first year, he recorded six catches of at least forty yards.
However, he became untrustworthy halfway through the 2022 campaign. The Eagles most likely lost a game and an 11-0 start against Washington due to a costly fumble that followed a 50-yard grab. In Dallas, there were two drops that resulted in interceptions. Additionally, there was the crucial mishandle of a potentially significant Super Bowl play.
The Eagles welcomed Watkins back in 2023 in spite of all of this, but he only caught seven passes for 49 yards before adding eight more yards to his stat line (8-for-93) in the Giants’ blowout loss in the season finale. In 2023, he made the longest reception of 19 yards.
Watkins might gain from a move across the state, but he still possesses elite qualities. The Steelers don’t have many wide receivers other than George Pickens, who had 1,140 yards in his second season, and Diontae Johnson, who signed with the Panthers, was gone.
With a 12.7 average, Watkins has 98 career receptions for 1,249 yards and six touchdowns.
The Eagles’ only returning receivers from the previous squad are probably DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, as well as the infrequently used punt returner Britain Covey.
Olamide Zaccheaus, Julio Jones, and Watkins all alternated at third receiver, but the Eagles haven’t indicated that they would be interested in having any of them return.
Following D’Andre Swift and Kevin Byard (Bears), Marcus Mariota (Commanders), Nicholas Morrow (Bills), Sua Opeta (Buccaneers), Jack Driscoll (Dolphins), and Jack Stoll (Giants), Watkins is the seventh free agent from the 2023 Eagles to sign with a different team.
Shaun Bradley, Zack Cunningham, Justin Evans, Jones, Shaq Leonard, Avonte Maddox, Rashaad Penny, Bradley Roby, Boston Scott, and Zaccheaus are the remaining unsigned players from the previous season.