Cooper Kupp leads the league in receiving yards through three weeks with 367, more than half of which have come on plays of 20 or more yards gained, so it's no surprise that he has a spot on NFL.com's list of the best deep threats in the league. The same goes for Tyreek Hill, who had nine of his 15 touchdowns in 2020 come on plays of 20 or more yards. Ditto for Raiders wideouts Henry Ruggs and Bryan Edwards, who have helped Derek Carr to lead the league in passing yards after three weeks. And Davante Adams is perhaps the best overall pass-catcher in the game, so his inclusion is obviously understandable.
It might come as a surprise, then, that NFL.com's Nick Shook ranked a second-year player — one with 14 receptions in his whole career — higher than all of them on his top-10 deep threats list. But if you've watched Eagles WR Quez Watkins, you probably know that there's good reason for this ranking.
Watkins leads the league with a whopping 26.6 yards per reception, though the sample size is small — seven catches for 186 yards — and is bolstered by a 91-yard catch he had in Week 2 (that somehow didn't lead to a touchdown drive).
He also had an unbelievable grab against the Cowboys in Week 3, a contested, leaping reception that was one of very few bright spots in the Birds' staggering defeat. In seven targets, he has seven completions, and the sixth-rounder's blazing speed and ridiculous athleticism are the primary reasons for that. Here's what Shook had to say about Watkins when he ranked him No. 4 on the list, behind only Tyler Lockett, Ja'Marr Chase and Brandin Cooks:
We welcome the surprise selection to the top 10! Eagles fans will tell you Watkins' performance isn't shocking, but simply inevitable thanks to his top-end speed. The second-year receiver showed it off in the preseason and has carried it into the regular season, becoming the only receiver averaging 50-plus yards per target (66) on deep passes among players with more than one such target this season, per NGS. Watkins has caught both of his deep targets for an eye-popping 132 yards but has yet to reach the end zone. Just wait until he finishes these deep receptions -- then we won't be able to forget his name.
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Following that top four are Hill at No. 5, Kupp at No. 6, Ruggs at No. 7, Adams at No. 8, D.J. Moore at No. 9 and Edwards at No. 10.
Now, would I rank Watkins higher than Hill at this point? No. Sure, Hill has had an underwhelming past two weeks after exploding to start the season, but we're talking about one of the fastest players ever, a five-time Pro Bowler and a three-time first-team All-Pro selection who's still in his athletic prime. However, since Shook is only looking at what we've seen in the first three weeks in the season, I suppose it's fair to say that Watkins is superior in his performance. After all, a 100 percent catch rate and a league-high Y/R figure is pretty tough to outdo.
We'll see if that changes after Watkins and Hill go head-to-head in the Chiefs-Eagles clash that awaits us this Sunday.
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