‘My time is still to come’: Quez Watkins’ patience is finally being rewarded with the Eagles

When the Eagles traded for A.J. Brown, Quez Watkins “got in his head,” as his father called it.

“You have to understand Quez — this is how he is,” Terrance Williams said recently. “He felt like the pressure was on. He’s got somebody with the big hype — A.J. Then you got [quarterback Jalen] Hurts there and they [are] calling each other best friends. He felt like it was going to be one of those situations that it’s going to be them, you know?

“It bothered him mentally for a minute to think about it, not knowing how the season was going to go.”

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While his worst fears might have been confirmed through the first half of the season — at least individually — Watkins remained patient, and over the last four games he has nearly doubled his receptions.

He’s unlikely to ever see as many targets as Brown and DeVonta Smith, but the 24-year-old now knows the pass distribution has had little to do with favoritism. Not when all three have close relationships with Hurts and have formed a posse of their own.

“That’s his right-hand man best friend. That’s his college best friend,” Watkins said this week, pointing at Brown and Smith a few locker stalls down at the NovaCare Complex. “And me, I guess, I’m his NFL best friend. So we all have our moments with him.

“And now that we’re all together, it’s like a group of friends and we all connect.”

Despite their place in the pecking order ahead of him, Watkins said he’s been able to confide in Brown and Smith whenever he’s been frustrated by game plans in which he’s rarely involved. But it’s been his close circle of family, mostly his father, he said, that has kept him centered in his third season.

When Smith was drafted in the first round last year, or when Brown arrived and received a $100 million contract, or when Hurts’ passes weren’t coming his way, or when he fumbled late in the loss to Washington, Williams offered sage advice that wasn’t always what the receiver wanted to hear.

And when the football started going Watkins’ way — as they did last Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, when he caught an important 30-yard touchdown pass — his father couldn’t be faulted for harping on his consistent message with a postgame text.

Hey, remember who told you to be patient the second half of the season is coming along with your time!!! You’re day 1, POPS!!!

Nick Sirianni tossed a game ball to Watkins after the 40-33 win over Green Bay. After the Brown acquisition, the Eagles coach said publicly what he had been telling his players individually: that the pass game would run first through the former Titans receiver, Smith, and tight end Dallas Goedert, and that Watkins would “have to take advantage of the opportunities” he got.

In essence, he would drop one rung after he finished third on the team in receiving in 2021, catching 43 passes for 647 yards and a touchdown.

“I remember it vividly,” Watkins said. “He was telling me they’re bringing in A.J. and not necessarily that I was taking a backseat, but these are the guys they’re looking to get the ball to. Stay patient, though. We’re going to get you the ball, keep you involved, stuff like that.”

But that isn’t quite what happened. Watkins was a distant fourth with 11 targets compared with Brown’s 63, Smith’s 51, and Goedert’s 41 through the first seven games. And he caught only six for 88 yards and a touchdown.

The Eagles tried to compensate for the lack of touches by having Watkins return kicks to open the season, but he struggled and was replaced by Week 3. He did contribute in other ways, drawing pass interference penalties in the first Washington game and by simply clearing out space with deep routes.

Most important, the team was winning.

“Not getting the ball — it creates frustration. It does,” Watkins said. “But getting the win, it kind of makes it less painful. But I would just call it a little frustration.”

Watkins, like many players, avoided pre-NFL challenges from peers. Williams coached his son from ages 5 to 12 and had him play quarterback or running back to get the ball in his hands as much as possible. Watkins eventually converted to receiver because of his speed and lean physique.

It wasn’t until his freshman year at Southern Miss that he wasn’t the unquestioned No. 1 at his position. But that didn’t last long, and by his junior year, Watkins led Conference USA in receiving yards even though he was suspended for the first two games.

On the field, Watkins faced little adversity, but off of it, he was forced to leave school and enroll in a junior college after he got behind academically. He would eventually return — and serve the suspension — but he hindered his predraft value and wasn’t selected until the sixth round.

“He accepted it. He knew he didn’t do like he should have done as far as his schooling,” Williams said. “I’m about sure that’s what dropped him down as far as the draft.”

Watkins, stuck behind several receivers, including first-rounder Jalen Reagor, didn’t get many opportunities as a rookie. But when Sirianni and the new Eagles staff came the following year, they saw him as a potential slot receiver.

» READ MORE: ‘I feel like I’ve won’: Eagles’ A.J. Brown reflects on trade, looks forward to playing the Titans

And when Reagor and other competitors trailed off, Watkins exploded. Sirianni was suggesting the following offseason that the Eagles already had a candidate in-house who could complement Smith. But acquiring Brown offered the chance to upgrade.

“It’s a business. These people make business moves,” Williams said. “They tell you one thing one minute what they said they’re going to do, how they’re going to keep doing what they’re doing, but it doesn’t always play out that way.”

From Brown’s perspective, he had a bumpy road upon his arrival, as he had to earn the others’ trust. By training camp, though, Hurts and his three top receivers were seen constantly together in and out of the building.

Still, when the Eagles released their hype video ahead of the opener, Brown and Smith were chosen to stand on top of the NovaCare roof with their quarterback overlooking Lincoln Financial Field for the closing image.

Watkins said that he noticed the scene, but that he was more concerned about his role once the season started.

“I can see why with me and Jalen so close,” Brown said of Watkins’ worries. “But we want to win and we’re going to do [what’s] best for the team. The friend part doesn’t affect anything. Sometimes I got to take a backseat and be a decoy.

“I definitely feel it, but I just don’t feel it as often.”

Watkins’ turn finally came against Washington last month. He caught 4 of 4 passes for 80 yards, including a 50-yard grab late in the fourth quarter that seemed destined to give the Eagles the lead — until he was stripped from behind.

He put on a brave face postgame. Watkins, who has the word Legend tattooed across his back, doesn’t lack for confidence. But his father knew how he felt and texted him immediately.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up Son!! I know you, DON’T!!!

The following week, he caught 2 of 2 passes for 31 yards and a 21-yard score in the victory over the Colts. Against the Packers, he pulled in 3 of 5 for 35 yards and a score.

“In the football aspect, he knows me best,” Watkins said of his father. “He’s always been that coach mindset for me off the field.”

Williams’ central message is simple: Control what you can control. Goedert returns in a few weeks. There will always be Browns and Smiths coming into the building. Watkins may be eligible for a contract extension next offseason, but there is little chance the Eagles will ever pay him more than the top two on the depth chart.

He said he isn’t thinking that far ahead.

“Money does play a big part once an organization invests in you; they think about you in a different way, and of course, they want to get you the ball. They want to show the world why they paid you,” Watkins said. “But I feel like my time is still to come.”

Inquirer Eagles beat reporters EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino preview the team’s Week 13 game against the Tennessee Titans. Watch at Inquirer.com/EaglesGameday