The Pittsburgh Steelers traded WR Diontae Johnson at the start of the new league year, and Quez Watkins signed as a free agent a couple weeks later. The two moves share a correlative factor not just for the Steelers, but for the player.
The fifth-year veteran acknowledges that he saw the Johnson trade as an opening. “For me, when I saw they traded Diontae, it was a great opportunity to potentially be a No. 2 or whatever they want me to do”, Watkins recently said, via Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It’s a good opportunity to compete for that spot”.
A 2020 sixth-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, Quez Watkins has played his entire career there to date. In that four-year span, he has recorded 98 catches for 1,249 yards and six touchdowns. Injuries limited him to just nine games a year ago, Watkins catching 15 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown.
Watkins saw his most extensive playing time as a second-year player in 2021. That season, he caught 43 passes for 647 yards and a touchdown. He averaged 15 yards a catch, including a league-long 91-yarder. Despite averaging 12 air yards on depth per target, he caught nearly 70 percent of his passes.
Still, nobody was beating down Watkins’ door this offseason to sign him. He only signed a one-year, Veteran Salary Benefit contract and shouldn’t anticipate a guaranteed roster spot. That won’t stop him from setting his sights on a starting job.
After all, without Johnson, the only established receiver the Steelers have is George Pickens. They retain Calvin Austin III, who has a minimal resume up to this point, and drafted Roman Wilson in the third round. The Steelers also signed Van Jefferson and Scotty Miller as cheap veteran depth. More cheap veteran depth is found in 2023 practice squad holdovers Denzel Mims and Marquez Calloway.
The wide receiver room is a shifting jumble right now, but that puts Watkins into familiar territory. He recalls his rookie season in Philadelphia sharing similar features. “We drafted three receivers and then brought in two more”, he recalled. “We all get to compete and make each other better”.
His recollections are indeed accurate, and Watkins was actually the last of the three. The Eagles drafted Jalen Reagor in the first round and John Hightower in the fifth. They drafted Watkins in the sixth. Travis Fulgham was the most notable veteran name added that offseason
So does Quez Watkins stand a legitimate chance of competing for a starting job? Well, it’s hard to rule that out at this point, though Wilson doesn’t help. Most probably view Jefferson ahead of Watkins, but it’s not a blowout. There is also Austin to consider, and the other veterans.
The Steelers will have to monitor this position closely this offseason and see who separates themselves from the pack. Watkins has decent size for a fast wide receiver, but he has some bad habits to break at this stage of his career.
