Eagles’ Nick Sirianni gives a vote of confidence to Quez Watkins

Despite Quez Watkins’ latest on-field lapse, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is sticking by the fourth-year wide receiver.

During the team’s latest loss Monday night to the Seattle Seahawks, Watkins was targeted just once by quarterback Jalen Hurts, resulting in the first of two interceptions by safety Julian Love. On the turnover that occurred midway through the fourth quarter, Hurts took a deep shot, but he underthrew Watkins in the end zone. However, Watkins displayed minimal effort in trying to backtrack and make a play on the football. Instead, Love came down with it easily, and Watkins jogged back to the sideline.

Sirianni defended Watkins, 25, while speaking with reporters on Wednesday.

“Understand this with Quez, his speed changes the game,” Sirianni said. “And not just because it’s going to him. [He is] going to open up the rest of the field. You can’t always predict where the ball is going to go — the defense, obviously, there’s things that happen where they dictate where the ball is going to go. In that particular case, that was one of them.

“Quez was on a clear-out route. The defense did something a little different than what we anticipated and the ball went to him. I still have confidence in Quez.”

» READ MORE: Quez Watkins says he’s an elite receiver. He’d better prove it, or his Eagles career might be toast.

Watkins, a sixth-round pick in the 2020 draft out of Southern Miss, logged a career-high 43 receptions, 647 receiving yards, and one touchdown during his sophomore season in 2021. But his numbers have dipped tremendously since A.J. Brown’s arrival that offseason.

Last year, Watkins had 33 catches, 354 receiving yards, and three touchdowns. He also had a critical drop during the second half of the team’s loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. Through seven games played this season — he missed seven games with a hamstring injury — Watkins has just seven catches for 49 yards and zero touchdowns.

His inconsistency prompts raised eyebrows considering that fellow wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus has produced at a higher clip despite receiving less opportunities. Zaccheaus has made more splash plays with eight receptions, 144 receiving yards, and two touchdowns, despite appearing in just 41% of the offensive snaps. By comparison, Watkins has logged 49% of the offensive snaps. Zaccheaus also has registered six catches for first downs while Watkins has four first-down receptions.

During the loss at Seattle, Watkins logged 36 snaps (52%), while Zaccheaus played just five (7%).

“Sometimes [Watkins] is in there also to clear the field and to show his speed because his speed is legit,” Sirianni said. “I’m confident still in Quez. I still have confidence in him. That’s the way the games goes sometimes with where the ball is going. Because he has to be accounted for on each play ... and that opens guys up underneath because of his speed.”

Asked if Watkins will continue to be the featured No. 3 receiver behind Brown and DeVonta Smith, Sirianni was noncommittal: “We’ll see. We’re confident in him as a player, as a teammate. Julio [Jones] has done a good job. [Zaccheaus] has done a good job. We have three guys that rotate in between being the No. 3 receiver. We’ll see where the reps continue to go. Each game plan is a little bit different of what you’re asking the players to do and their roles, so, we’ll see.”

The Eagles have lost three consecutive games for just the second time in the Sirianni era. During each of the losses this season, the offense has failed to score 20 points. The Eagles (10-4) host the New York Giants on Monday.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Seahawks takeaways: Jalen Hurts calls for more commitment to halt a concerning losing streak

With frustration mounting, Sirianni talked during his Wednesday press conference about accountability, one of his five core values that is preached regularly to the team.

Watkins declined to speak to reporters in the visitors’ locker room at Lumen Field after the loss.

“When you change who you are based off wins and losses, that’s when you’re going to lose the team,” Sirianni said. “It’s the exact same accountability regardless of the outcome. That’s the only way you’re going to get better. We’re in a little skid right now that I’m very confident we’ll be able to get out of. Accountability that not only I hold the standard to, for the team and myself, but also what they hold the standard to. That hasn’t changed in the slightest.

“… Accountability is the one of the main core values we have and we live by it every single day.”