Assessing the Watkins situation
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Assessing the Watkins situation
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
The wait is over.
Eagles first-round pick Danny Watkins will make his first career start Sunday against the Bills, according to Geoff Mosher of The Wilmington News-Journal.
Watkins, the 23rd selection in April's draft, has been inactive in three of four games. But that will reportedly change when he replaces Kyle DeVan as the Eagles look to win their first game since the opener.
As I wrote in Man Up on Tuesday, DeVan really struggled in the second half of Sunday's loss to the 49ers, although he wasn't alone. The line as a whole did not play well and had trouble with San Francisco's talented front seven.
Overall, DeVan has had ups and downs in four games, which was to be expected. His best game was probably Week 2 against the Falcons, but he has been the Eagles' most inconsistent lineman.
Having said that, the move comes as a bit of a surprise, only because we have no idea if Watkins is ready.
How much can a guy improve during the week if he's not playing on Sundays? We'll find out the answer to that question soon enough.
After holding out during the start of training camp, Watkins took over as the starting right guard, but struggled in the preseason. Given that he turns 27 in November, I was one of many who assumed Watkins would be on the field right away.
But that didn't happen. And while the shortened offseason was a factor, Watkins is in the minority when you compare him to first-round picks around the league.
I took a look at snap counts from Pro Football Focus. Here's a chart of how much each first-round pick has played so far this season:
| Pick | Player |
Position |
Team |
Snaps |
| 1 | Cam Newton | QB | Panthers | 296 |
| 2 | Von Miller | LB | Broncos | 245 |
| 3 | Marcell Dareus | DL | Bills | 189 |
| 4 | A.J. Green | WR | Bengals | 247 |
| 5 | Patrick Peterson | CB | Cardinals | 226 |
| 6 | Julio Jones | WR | Falcons | 247 |
| 7 | Aldon Smith | DL | 49ers | 110 |
| 8 | Jake Locker | QB | Titans | 6 |
| 9 | Tyron Smith | OL | Cowboys | 288 |
| 10 | Blaine Gabbert | QB | Jaguars | 145 |
| 11 | J.J. Watt | DL | Texans | 216 |
| 12 | Christian Ponder | QB | Vikings | 0 |
| 13 | Nick Fairley | DL | Lions | 0 |
| 14 | Robert Quinn | DL | Rams | 140 |
| 15 | Mike Pouncey | OL | Dolphins | 270 |
| 16 | Ryan Kerrigan | DL | Redskins | 252 |
| 17 | Nate Solder | OL | Patriots | 249 |
| 18 | Corey Liuget | DL | Chargers | 101 |
| 19 | Prince Amukamara | CB | Giants | 0 |
| 20 | Adrian Clayborn | DL | Bucs | 166 |
| 21 | Phil Taylor | DL | Browns | 172 |
| 22 | Anthony Castonzo | OL | Colts | 200 |
| 23 | Danny Watkins | OL | Eagles | 0 |
| 24 | Cameron Jordan | DL | Saints | 136 |
| 25 | James Carpenter | OL | Seahawks | 247 |
| 26 | Jonathan Baldwin | WR | Chiefs | 0 |
| 27 | Jimmy Smith | CB | Ravens | 0 |
| 28 | Mark Ingram | RB | Saints | 90 |
| 29 | Gabe Carimi | OL | Bears | 100 |
| 30 | Muhammad Wilkerson | DL | Jets | 140 |
| 31 | Cam Heyward | DL | Steelers | 47 |
| 32 | Derek Sherrod | OL | Packers | 7 |
What stands out here? At first glance, it looks like Watkins has company. Ponder, Fairley, Amukamara, Baldwin and J. Smith have also seen no action this season.
But there's a catch. Ponder is a quarterback playing behind Donovan McNabb, so his situation is different. And the other four guys haven't been on the field because of injuries. In other words, Watkins is the only healthy, non-quarterback who hasn't played at all.
There were seven other offensive linemen taken in the first round: Tyron Smith, Mike Pouncey, Nate Solder, Anthony Castonzo, James Carpenter, Gabe Carimi and Derek Sherrod.
Six of them - Smith, Pouncey, Solder, Castonzo, Carpenter and Carimi - have all started when healthy. Watkins has company in Sherrod, who was the final pick in the first round. He was in contention for a starting spot but has only been active for one of the Packers' four games.
Within the NFC East, Tyron Smith is reportedly making a name for himself in Dallas. And Ryan Kerrigan was named rookie of the month in September. He has 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, an interception and a touchdown in four games with the Redskins. Amukamara, meanwhile, has been sidelined with an injury.
In other words, other teams are not using the lockout or the shortened offseason as an excuse for their first-round picks not being on the field. Just last week, we saw 49ers rookie Aldon Smith give the Eagles all kinds of problems with 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hits.
Watkins has been waiting. He was given a chance to win the starting job in the preseason, but couldn't hold on to it. Now he gets another shot.
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Comment removed.
Ah... but none of the other first rounders are playing for Andy Reid.....— 50_buick- I'll say it again, why will the media not hunt down Lurie and ask him what he feels. Is he untouchable to the media? I mean he has to pay all these stiffs. Why have we not heard from the man who pays the bills. I would love to hear how he feels about this. Hey Sheil, make it happen. Be the first reporter to actually interview the owner!!!— kchaz
- Move herremans back to left guard... install Jammal jackson at center... get half the line beefed up. Line up Tight end on the right side to block and put shady or schmitt in backfield on right side to provide the extra blocker.... how hard is that? MIke will have comfort knowing his strong side has solid players in front and the extra help on the right side will at least be addressed.— 1st and goal
- The Eagles want to run the ball against Buffalo. They've lost their best OL, Jason Peters, and with that the ability to run left.
Hence they're now pairing Watkins with Herremans on the right side, looking to get some explosive push in the running game.
Hope it works. I have a hunch that it will.— FishFryFrank 
How can you call a guy a bust after 4 games? Just because he hasn't played yet doesn't mean he's a bust. His time has been spent learning, watching and talking with Mudd to understand the scheme will work in his benefit. I would rather a guy with potential learn and then play than for a guy who doesn't understand it yet play and get someone injured. Watkins will show you all what he's made of and the Eagles get on that roll so the true fans can comment and all you fair weather fans can go away.- TNEaglesFan, I guess you know that you don't seem to fit in here. Your sane rational approach is not very popular. To be a typical blogger here you have to have a big mouth, a small brain and very litle knowledge of real football. "madden" is not real football!— OldBill1934
- Eagles could not have had any of the OL drafted before them, so only fair to compare to the 3 after. Still not good, 2 out of 3 have played more than 7 snaps.— P Even
- The Eagles pride themselves on thinking outside the box. Man, I wish they would get back in the box, already.— riles1875
- @ TNEaglesfan - keep drinking the kool-aid and the Eagles will send you a free shroud.
I take that back - they'll charge you $49.95 for it and it'll be of subpar quality.— PinkstonsStrengthCoach - There's a lot of sharp criticizem about the play of the Eagles offensive line, but of late this line has played pretty good with the exception that the Eagles don't have push in the red zone for rushing yards. This kid, Watkins has the potential to provide that additional push needed.
I don't know if anyone is watching but the Eagles linemen are getting out onto the next level and in some cases with hustle, some of the linemen are leading plays 25 and 30 yards down field. Watching closely, I don't think any of the Eagles Linemen have attitude and instincts to protect their smaller skilled players from acts of intimidation and defenses bullying tactics.
It would be good for one of the linemen to punch an assiliant in the mouth and take a disqualification for the team, to set the tone.
— Dexter - Don't forget that he's only had, what, 3 years of football experience? The real reason he's not ready is that he has played less football than most incoming freshmen to DI programs.— phillipkatz
- great job andy, another wasted draft pick, years and years worth, you have depleted the roster with your stupidity— tooltime
- While I NEVER thought this was a Superbowl team, I thought with all the new faces we'd be a 10 or 11 win playoff team. WOW! I KNEW the line was going to be a major problem, but all the writers and pundits seem to agree that while not GOOD, they are at least "decent". If they can get the defense to stop being LOUSY.....maybe Andy can salvage a 9-8 season.— TBear
- Nobody remembers Nick Cole or Max Jean Gillis? They needed a RG in the worst way...now whether Watkins is that guy remains to be seen, but they needed to address that position some time ago.— drbob1
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