Danny Watkins.
Remember that name? It has probably been a long time since you've really heard it.
Many Eagles fans were upset when the Birds took the then-26-year-old offensive lineman with the 23rd pick in the draft. What made the pick better in the minds of some fans is that Watkins was sold as a guy who could step in and start right away. Only he couldn't. From the time Watkins arrived in training camp until he was benched for Kyle DeVan before the opener, he wasn't ready.
So Watkins sat on the bench for the first four games of the season and learned more about the NFL and made his first start against Buffalo on Oct. 9. From that point on, he played every offensive snap for the Eagles in the last 12 games. And to top it off, he played well, at least well enough for us all not to notice.
See, the stats for offensive lineman aren't easy to pinpoint and even when you find them, they're not always very telling. But what you did notice about Watkins, is that you didn't notice him, which is a good thing. For the most part, you didn't see him getting thrown aside by defensive lineman and if you did, it was in the beginning of his tenure as a starter.
All this Watkins talk stems from an email from a reader named Mark, who sent me the following questions:
How would you evaluate the play of guard Danny Watkins? Did his play and his potential after his first season validate being taken in the first round?
NFL
Interesting. And toward the end of this season, I actually wondered the same thing. In fact, I wanted to catch up to Watkins in the locker room near the end of the season but never got the chance. He's quite an elusive guy. Dealing with the media is another part of the NFL that Watkins wasn't ready to deal with.
Early in the season, Watkins said he was overwhelmed by life in the NFL -- not exactly what fans wanted to hear from their first-round pick. After that comment, Watkins was a little harder to get ahold of in the locker room. Even after he earned the starting gig back at right guard, Watkins didn't make himself available before or after practice. Eventually, Eagles public relations brought him into the media room for his availability.
I tell you all that because it's important to the Danny Watkins Story. He's a quiet guy -- on the field and off. And it isn't that surprising that you didn't hear about him too much this season.
So, let's take a look at how the rookie out of Baylor performed this season:
ProFootballFocus ranked Watkins as the 49th best guard in football (that includes left and right guards). Interestingly, PFF ranks Evan Mathis as the best guard in football.
The 49th ranking isn't great but Watkins didn't allow a sack and allowed only three QB hits and 23 QB pressures.
So, back to Mike's questions. First, I thought Watkins played well. Second, it's hard to say if he warranted a first-round selection for the same reason I'm not ready to call Brandon Graham a bust -- we just haven't seen enough of him yet. If you were banking on Watkins starting from Day 1 and playing well, maybe he wasn't worth a first-round choice. He simply wasn't ready.
But looking at what he was able to do -- be a solid piece on the offensive line, which was a strength of the team -- he was pretty impressive. He got that much better in four weeks on the bench and is still learning.
So, expect to hear Watkins' name over the next few years ... or don't. Maybe the latter is the better of the options.
E-mail Dave Zangaro at dzangaro@comcastsportsnet.com