Cleveland Browns Draft: Three potential late round wide receiver gems
By Nick Swanson
1. Austin Watkins – UAB
One guy that is a very deep sleeper in this year’s draft is UAB’s Austin Watkins. The former JUCO product transferred to UAB back before the 2018 season and became something special for the Blazers. In 25 career games with the team, Watkins recorded 98 receptions for 1,642 yards and 9 touchdowns.
At his pro day, Watkins measured in at 6-foot-1 2/5 inches and209 pounds. After running a 4.52 40-yard dash, he dazzled the scouts by catching every one of his thirty targets including an incredible 60-yard bomb. His draft stock plummeted after his limited action in 2020.
Playing in only 7 games for the Blazers, he recorded 34 catches for 468 yards and three touchdowns. Watkins opted out of playing for the remainder of the season. In 2019, Watkins was selected as a member of the C-USA All-Conference Second Team and then was selected to the First Team in 2020.
The lack of tape can be concerning but in the later rounds, teams tend to use flyer picks on players that may have a chance of making the practice squad or straight to the main roster.
Watkins has shown that he can be the guy at UAB and could very well be the next late-round gem receiver that a team picks up. He’s still a developmental prospect but he’s an incredible athlete.
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He has a unique combination of physical traits, speed, ball skills and route running that makes him a very interesting prospect at the next level.