When the Eagles added free agent wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus earlier this week, the first most thought people had was this:
What does it mean for Quez Watkins?
Because Watkins had a down season in 2022. No doubt about it. While his opportunities dwindled after the addition of A.J. Brown, which pushed him down the depth chart to No. 3, Watkins clearly didn’t make enough of the opportunities he did get. He dealt with an injury and made mistakes throughout the season, capping it off with a costly drop in the Eagles’ Super Bowl LVII loss.
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Watkins took ownership of all those mistakes but they still happened. And when the Eagles add a receiver who has mostly played in the slot, the position Watkins mans in the Eagles’ offense, it’s fair to wonder.
But, at least publicly, the Eagles threw their support behind Watkins on Thursday.
“We've just added depth to the group,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “We have a lot of confidence in Quez, and I know he's going to come back. I know he's hungry. He's determined. He feels like he didn't have his best season. Now, he didn't get the opportunities -- we've talked about this. He didn't get the opportunities that he had in the past, and so it's just taking advantage of the opportunities that he has.
“But Quez is our No. 3 receiver. There will be competition for it just like there was when Zach [Pascal] was here for different roles within that. But we're excited about Quez. I'm really excited with our new addition.”
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Zaccheaus is undersized but the South Jersey native and St. Joseph’s Prep product is coming off his best season in the NFL. He had 40 catches for 533 yards and 3 touchdowns with the Falcons in 2022. Watkins had a 647-yard season in 2021 but his numbers dipped with his opportunity last season.
And now Watkins, 24, is entering the final year of his contract as a sixth-round pick and has a cap hit of $2.785 million in 2023.
After Sirianni gave his answer, general manager Howie Roseman hopped in.
“Can I add something that you said to me?” Roseman said, addressing Sirianni. “And I'm just going to say your words because I think they're important. You spend a tremendous amount of time trying to improve the offense, which I appreciate, and looking at tape, and you've come in to me multiple times and talked about -- nobody is down on Quez Watkins in this building.
“We're excited about him and the skill set that he has. I'm not saying this to be combative in any way, but at the end of the day he's also played outside. A lot of the guys that we have, and you've talked about this with our staff when we're talking about it, guys can multi-align. Guys can play inside and out. I think that's one of the benefits of the group that we have.”
There are two ways to look at Roseman’s comments. One, he’s being honest. The Eagles still think an awful lot of Watkins and expect him to be their third receiver in 2022. Or, two, he’s talking him up for a reason. Trading Watkins would save the Eagles over $2.7 million in cap space. If the Eagles like Zaccheus and use a draft pick on a receiver, that’s not out of the question.
But for now, Watkins is the Eagles’ No. 3 receiver and he has plenty of ability. The former sixth-round pick had 647 yards receiving in 2021 and has the type of game-breaking speed the Eagles really value in their offense.
Does he need to be better in 2023? No doubt. But for now, it seems like the Eagles are planning on giving him that chance.
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