According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, veteran wide receiver Quez Watkins has agreed to a contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers and will be playing for a new team.
“Source: Wide receiver Quez Watkins is signing with the #Steelers.”
For Watkins, who wore Philadelphia Eagles colors during his first four seasons as a professional, this is a significant change in surroundings. Watkins was the 200th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft class when the Eagles chose him in the sixth round.
Russell Wilson gets a new toy downfieldAlthough Watkins isn’t quite a game-changing addition to Russell Wilson’s toolkit, he still has the ability to aid Pittsburgh’s passing attack.
With Kenny Pickett starting at quarterback regularly in the 2023 NFL season, the Steelers averaged just 17.8 points per game, which ranked them 28th in the whole league. Additionally, they only ranked 25th in the NFL in terms of pass play percentage (53.3%) and 187.8 passing yards per game.
Wilson and Watkins will take advantage of the extended offseason to get to know one another as well as the environment in Pittsburgh.
As both players were on separate teams in 2023, there will be a transitional phase for them both, particularly for Watkins, who is learning what it’s like to switch teams for the first time in his career. In 2023, the Eagles’ offense was far more dynamic than the Steelers’, who had trouble producing yards and scores.
Watkins, who also played three years in college with the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, totaled 1,249 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 98 receptions and 147 targets in his four seasons in the City of Brotherly Love.
Quez Watkins’ early 2024 NFL season outlook in Pittsburgh
Even though Watkins has years of NFL experience, the Steelers may still consider him to be a backup option in 2024. The Steelers traded Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers this summer, but they still have players like Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin, and George Pickens, who Pittsburgh also acquired in the offseason.
Currently, it appears that Pickens and Jefferson will be the team’s WR1 and WR2 in 2024, but with the 2024 NFL season still many months away, Watkins will undoubtedly still have the opportunity to establish himself as a competent WR1/WR2 option for Pittsburgh.
It is also important to note that the Steelers might select Wilson with a different weapon in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft if they choose to select Wilson with the 20th pick.
The likelihood that the Steelers choose a wide receiver with that pick—or any other pick—should have a substantial effect on Watkins’ prospects of staying in Pittsburgh.
Social media reactions to Quez Watkins signing with the Steelers
Reactions to the Steelers’ acquisition of Watkins are suddenly overflowing social media timelines.
@tboeNFT stated, “Giving Russ some targets to miss.”
Significantly different. Good luck to Quez in Pitt. @WRnation123 wrote, “Hopefully he saw Freddie Mitchel to get him a set of hands.”
“Watkins is insane—he’s like a 97-speed in Madden—the Steelers are stacked and appear extremely dangerous on paper,” someone exclaimed.
