Bowen: Eagles safety Watkins rewarded for perseverance

JAYLEN WATKINS is suddenly a major cog for the Eagles, the safety who will take Malcolm Jenkins' place on those downs when Jenkins moves to nickel corner, in the wake of the season-ending quadriceps tendon rupture suffered by Ron Brooks.

Watkins, drafted as a corner in 2014 and cut from the team before the 2015 season, wants fans to see in him "someone who's going to keep going, no matter what . . . I'm going to work, regardless, and get better every day."

That's the identity Watkins has tried to forge through being cut by the Eagles, spending time on Buffalo's practice squad, changing positions, and coming back to where he started - as a different person and player, he believes.

A year ago, Watkins was one more name on a list of corners the Eagles had drafted over the course of a dozen years who didn't pan out as starters. In fact, now that 2015 second-rounder Eric Rowe is gone to New England, we're back with Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown in 2002 as the last true impact corners drafted here.

Watkins, a fourth-round pick from Florida, was supposed to be versatile enough to play corner and safety, but he didn't get on the field much as a rookie (four games) and didn't seem like a very good tackler when he did.

The 2015 season brought a new secondary coach, Cory Undlin replacing John Lovett, and a move to safety during spring drills for Watkins. Then, as training camp opened, the team traded corner Brandon Boykin to Pittsburgh. Watkins was a corner again. Then he was unemployed.

"I think I kind of started to make excuses; when things get rough, you kind of want to point out a reason why you don't make it, and I think I did that a little bit," Watkins said Tuesday. "But on top of that was not being able to have a chance to showcase what I could do. That goes to me not being able to earn the coaches' trust in practices. I probably didn't do that.

"But (after he returned) this staff gave me an opportunity at safety, locked me at safety, and I just had to suck it up and get better at it. I knew tackling would be a challenge. I was just proud of myself, of how I approached that, didn't complain about that and became a better tackler. Now it's all working out."

Going to Buffalo's practice squad, to a team where his half-brother, wideout Sammy Watkins, was a star, "was a humbling experience," he said. "I think I earned guys' respect . . . Nobody knew anything about me. I approached every day like, 'I'm gonna earn their respect.' ''

One of the defensive backs who helped him in Buffalo was Brooks, who signed as a free agent with the Eagles this spring. They spoke Tuesday, as Brooks awaited surgery that probably will keep him off the practice field until next July. Brooks' misfortune is a big break for Watkins, as so often happens in the NFL.

"He's in good spirits," Watkins said.

In Buffalo, Watkins took stock, tried to see himself objectively.

"Physically I had the ability . . . Mentally, I had to self-evaluate, make changes to my game, as far as getting stronger and tackling," he said. "On the practice squad, you have the ability to address those issues, and I was able to do it with great guys - my brother Sammy, (wideout) Percy Harvin."

The key, he said, was "looking at it as another opportunity, not the end of all things."

As the weeks progressed, Watkins began to feel confident he would get another chance somewhere. "I was hoping it would be Philadelphia, because I'm not one to leave a bad taste anywhere that I'm at," he said.

It was an injury that brought Watkins back here - Nolan Carroll's broken ankle, in the Thanksgiving blowout loss at Detroit. Often in such situations, teams look for players who already know their system. That's a factor in dealing with Brooks' situation, too - despite exotic ideas fans might have about trades, or signings of name vets who have been released elsewhere, the plan seems to be to play Watkins, and activate rookie corner C.J. Smith for a backup role, while bringing back to the practice squad Aaron Grymes, who looked good in training camp.

Watkins made some inroads in rebranding himself late last season, then Chip Kelly and defensive coordinator Bill Davis were fired. It probably helped Watkins that Doug Pederson retained Undlin.

"The system I'm in now kind of tailors to what I do, as far as covering and getting aggressive. It allows players to go make plays," Watkins said.

In fact, he found some of the concepts and terminology the same as the defense he'd played in at Florida, which Watkins said helped him "play a little faster" early on.

The position change agrees with Watkins, a cerebral, 5-11, 194-pound player whose 4.41 40 speed translates more to smooth running than sudden bursts.

Watkins said he feels he can "kind of use my knowledge of the game more at safety, because you kind of have more free space . . . Sometimes at corner you're out on an island . . . you're allowed to react a little more, whereas at corner, you're kind of in a one-on-one battle the whole game."

There was little doubt Watkins would stick this year when the Eagles trimmed their roster to the regular-season limit of 53.

"I'm very proud of him. He's done a really good job," defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said as the season approached. "It's easy to work on your strengths. He's really shown that he's willing to work on his weaknesses and it's shown on the field."

Brooks went down in the first quarter last Sunday, and Watkins ended up playing a season-high 46 snaps, of a possible 58. At one point, former Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford tried a throw down the middle that Watkins calmly flicked aside.

"I saw the ball late, tried to tip it back to Rodney (McLeod, the other safety). Usually you tip it too short, but I tipped it too far," Watkins said. "That play right there is pretty much what the difference is to me, between corner and safety. I can be more involved in the game, and making plays."

@LesBowen

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