Danny Watkins: Fun facts about the newest Eagle

The Eagles bypassed the opportunity to improve their horrid defense last night, choosing instead to try to fix their interior offensive line by drafting Baylor lineman Danny Watkins at pick 23. As you may have heard, Watkins is a … unique player. Let’s get to it, shall we?

»Watkins was born on November 6 … 1984. Yes, he’s 26 years old. This makes him older than teammates DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy, Brent Celek, Trevor Laws, Akeem Jordan and Ernie Sims. He will be 32 by the time his rookie contract ends. Is this an acknowledgment by Eagles brass that their championship window is going to break down roughly in the next three or four years, when Michael Vick’s body does?

»But don’t worry, there’s one thing we don’t have to be “soary” about: Watkins is Canadian, which adds to his lovable yokel vibe. (This is not snark; we find it charming.)

»He also used to be a firefighter! Don’t expect that fact to be mentioned during Eagles prime-time games at all this season. (OK, that time was snark.)

»OK, but what about on the field, which is, of course the only thing that matters. (Somewhere, Jimmy Smith is crying.) Sports Illustrated calls him a “fundamentally sound blocker who uses all his assets well … He’s a hard-working lineman who is NFL ready at a variety of positions,” which: he’d better be! Doug Farrar at Yahoo notes that his “natural ability to adopt a new position will be tested by more complex NFL defenses — it wouldn’t be surprising if he struggles at first as his technique catches up to his raw ability,” and compares him to the Packers’ Josh Sitton.

What do you think? Do you like Watkins’ odds of helping the Eagles immediately, or would you have preferred a defender?