Player: WR Quez Watkins
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: Although they still have work to do to replenish the wide receiver room, the Pittsburgh Steelers drafting Roman Wilson doesn’t help Quez Watkins. The Steelers were certainly going to draft a wide receiver, of course, but doing something and planning to do something is an important distinction. With Wilson in the building, Watkin’s future with the team is more tenuous.
A 2020 sixth-round draft pick, wide receiver Quez Watkins has spent his entire career on an NFL 53-man roster, when healthy. Now on his second NFL team via free agency, however, he’s in a vulnerable spot with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pittsburgh doesn’t even have a deep wide receiver room, but Watkins isn’t a lock to make the roster. They traded Diontae Johnson, released Allen Robinson II, and lost Miles Boykin in free agency, but it feels like there’s another shoe to drop.
And it could drop on Watkins. Right now, the wide receiver room consists of George Pickens, rookie Roman Wilson, Calvin Austin III, Watkins, and Van Jefferson. Those are the most notable names, but they also have some veterans like Marquez Calloway and Denzel Mims in there too.
A third-round pick, Wilson stands a good chance of playing right away. Pickens is their WR1, and Austin is their punt returner, while Jefferson is arguably a better option. You have four wide receivers right there, and they’re unlikely to carry more than five.
So you potentially have Quez Watkins competing with the field, which is likely to include one more significant name by the end of training camp. Their options for adding meaningful wide receivers feel like they’re dwindling, but there’s always a deal to make.
Either way, Roman Wilson clouds Watkins’ path to playing time even if the does make the roster. For starters, in an Arthur Smith offense, the only role I can see for Watkins is as a situational deep threat. He’s not a nuanced route runner and gives variable effort, with non-existent blocking. Wilson is a high-energy route runner with an eagerness to participate in the blocking component.
If Watkins isn’t even going to see the field, possibly not dress, then the doesn’t need a spot on the 53. And I’m not convinced that, if released, he doesn’t make it to the practice squad.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
