Former Southern Miss wide receiver Quez Watkins was selected in the NFL draft on Saturday by the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles selected Watkins as the 200th pick in the sixth round. This is the first selection by the Eagles of a Southern Miss player since they chose Jeremy Bridges in the sixth round of the 2003 draft.
The Athens, Alabama native decided to forgo his senior year and declared for the NFL draft. Watkins then received an invite to the NFL Combine in February in which he notably ran a 4.35 40-yard dash.
Watkins also ran a 4.36 in the 20-yard shuttle run, recorded a vertical jump of 36.5 inches and a jump of 125 inches in the broad jump.
In his junior year at Southern Miss, Watkins finished second all-time in receiving yards and led Conference USA receivers with 1,178 receiving yards with six touchdowns and 64 catches. Watkins was named as a first-team All-Conference USA selection in both his junior and sophomore seasons.
In his career, Watkins totaled 2,404 receiving yards and 159 receptions.
Since the 2016 NFL draft, Southern Miss has now had seven players taken and the sixth player to be drafted during the Jay Hopson era.
