The NFL Draft is one of the most exciting events of the year. It’s where superstars are born, franchises take shape and new eras begin. But for every future legend that finds their way into the league, there are those who for whatever reason, are unable to live up to their potential.
The Philadelphia Eagles have a very strong draft history, but it’s not perfect. In fact, one of the biggest so-called busts of all time was drafted back in the first round of 2011. That man was an offensive guard, Danny Watkins. But why did this pick turn out to be one of the most confusing selections of all time? Who was to blame? What really went on?
We need to go way back to begin finding our answer. A native of West Kelowna, British Colombia, Watkins spent most of his childhood playing rugby and hockey. His intimidating size lent itself perfectly to defensive duties but although athletically gifted, Watkins’ heart was elsewhere…
At age 16, he became a junior firefighter, the first West Kelowna had ever seen. Watkins was besotted with the idea of becoming a firefighter and took some time after High School to begin pursuing his dream, instead of going straight to college.
According to numerous stories, Watkins would help fight fires by day and actually stay overnight in the local firehouse, building a brotherhood with his firefighters. His captain at the time then suggested that Watkins study fire sciences at Butte, the same JUCO as attended by none other Aaron Rodgers.
Watkins did exactly that, but it didn’t take long for football coaches to take a shine to the 6’4, 290 lbs, kid who had never previously played the sport. Craig Rigsbee, the team’s athletic director, had this to say about Watkins:
"He had great feet, he had great hands, he really bent his knees well, he had great balance, things you can't teach," Rigsbee said. "A lot of times in athletics, you either have it or you don’t.”
Watkins certainly had ‘it’ but he knew very little of football as a whole, let alone fundamentals of playing offensive line. But over the course of the next two seasons, Watkins began to draw an abundance of attention from larger schools, helping Butte win a Division III national championship in 2008.
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Next season, he transferred to Baylor. Coaches loved the fact that somebody at his size, was still so raw. Most football prospects. Had undergone the rigors of high school and college, but not Watkins. It was a perfect blend. He had the maturity of an adult, but with a Footballing frame that had not taken punishment anywhere near the levels as the majority of other players. He replaced 2009 1st round pick, Jason Smith at Left Tackle…and the rest, as they say, was history….at least it would be in a dream world.
As Watkins continued to emerge as a genuine first-round prospect at the age of 26, Senior Bowl invites and pre-draft workouts began to filter their way into the equation. Without really knowing it, Watkins was being thrust into a genuine career path that would make him millions…which would be fine, if his heart was in it.
On paper, he was everything you could want. He reportedly scored a 40 on the 50-question Wonderlic personality/intelligence test; the average score for an offensive lineman is in the low 20s. Disciplined as a senior, he drew just one flag all year long and after shutting down Texas A&M’s Von Miller, the idea of moving this powerhouse inside was almost too good to pass up…so long as that’s where he wanted to be.
Eagles quarterbacks were sacked 49 times in the 2010 campaign, and the stat would have been much worse if Vick was not so proficient at sprinting out of trouble.
The sirens were sounding before Watkins was even drafted. He brought five of his former firefighters from West Kelowna to New York for Draft night and while the idea of being drafted by an NFL team was intriguing, Watkins was originally going to turn it down. It wasn’t until he was offered a visit with the New York Fire Department and a tour of Ground zero, that he decided to attend. For anyone else, that’s the equivalent of a tour of Canton, or the Linc. It meant everything to Danny, who spent offseason after offseason helping out in the community:
He woke up today and told us, ‘I’m going to the fire hall,'” said West Kelowna fire captain Lionel Bateman. “He didn’t say anything about, ‘Hey, I’m getting drafted.’ His priorities are all messed up.”
After being drafted by the Eagles, it took literally minutes for his love of firefighting to emerge questions from the media. At this point, one has to wonder that during the draft interview process, why nobody really pieced together just how passionate he was about this. You’re signing a guy to a four-year multi-million dollar contract, who should be besotted with Football, enthralled by it, living it and breathing it…but Watkins never did. It just sort of…happened.
He Called the fire service ‘brothers’ when talking about ground zero shortly after being drafted, credited growing up in a firehouse for his maturity and to me, most puzzlingly of all, seemed to almost kind of…forget? The stars on the Eagles offense when asked. There was a hesitation and like a kid struggling in an exam, he found a way to pass without revising. (As seen in the YouTube video below at 6:45)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNRdIEIIg6s
It didn’t take long for Watkins to begin visiting local firehouses. He started a charity called ‘All Hands Working within the blink of an eye. Watkins was using his new-found platform as an NFL player, to give back to the community and craft that shaped the 26-year old man.
But his career as an Eagle never really stood a chance. Because of the lockout that spring, the Eagles coaching staff couldn’t work with Watkins until late July, when the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached. Because ongoing negotiations with his contract too, Watkins fell behind…fast. It’s hard transitioning inside as it is, this was before the new mold of versatile lineman took the forefront…especially for a player with such limited football experience.
It definitely didn’t help that Howard Mudd, who spent one year with the Eagles after a 45-year NFL resume, was as old-school as they come. Gritty, tough, in-your-face, Mudd defined ‘tough love’…which for most players was fine. But until this point, football had been almost a hobby for Watkins, but now he was expected to perform. Expected to perform like a first-round pick. Expected to treat every practice like it would be his last…and that just calmed the fire he had for the game.
There were numerous stories fo Watkins struggling to grasp concepts and basic fundamentals under Mudd’s guidance, with some going as far to liken it to a strict father almost screaming coaching at his kid who was struggling in a golf swing.
“The toughness we saw at Baylor (University) never translated to Philadelphia,” - Howie Roseman
Watkins was inserted into the lineup at right guard, where he started 12 games…and was underwhelming at best.
What’s almost heartbreaking is that something happened during Watkins’ tenure with the Eagles. Amidst the constant pressure building internally and externally, his teammates took a stand. According to this fantastic article on Sports Illustrated, both Jason Kelce and Evan Mathis approached Howard Mudd, asking him to take it easy on Danny, to take a different approach and not yell commands into his ear over and over…because Watkins was breaking down. His love for the game, fading.
He started to become reclusive. He wouldn’t dive into the tape and would often be pulled up on it, always giving the same answer while all of his other teammates were knee deep in All-22 goodness. He wasn’t social, he wasn’t part of that group…but that didn’t mean they didn’t support him.
Watkins appeared close with his offensive line teammates. As his career in Philadelphia grew dark, his love for firefighting was just re-enforced. In fact, Watkins actually bought himself a fire truck….like, a real fire truck and took Jason Kelce out for a spin.
Then, there was this absolute iconic moment, where the o-line played out a scene where Fireman Danny would save the day. They loved him. They just saw a 26-year old man, trapped in an environment he didn’t really ever envision himself in, and longed for something so pure, so immaterial, so genuine, that you couldn’t help but support him.
One dreadful 2011 season later and a flurry of coaching changes that saw both Andy Reid and Howard Mudd depart wiped a clean slate for Watkins. In stepped Chip Kelly and Jeff Stoutland and a system that almost demanded versatility…something Watkins struggled to find.
But as all of this continued to spiral, Watkins’ love for fire-fighting reached new heights. And in the most bizarre news story to date, he was pictured fighting fires with the Philadelphia Fire Department just days after a game in 2012. The new look staff were already concerned with Watkins, his efforts, his play as a first-round pick…but then they see their player fighting fires mid-season…which obviously breaks just about every unwritten rule of an NFL contract possible, for very obvious reasons.
To this day, Watkins states this was purely a charity appearance. But the reality is, he may well have been moonlighting as a firefighter this whole time. Keeping a deep secret, like Spiderman. That’s why he fell behind with tape, why he struggled to grasp concepts…it all made sense.
And after another disappointing season, it was finished. Danny Watkins was cut in 2013 and was granted an opportunity in Miami for one season, before quitting football, moving back to Texas and that firehouse once more.
So what happened next?
Well, Watkins earned a very different rookie of the year award. Earning 2015 Rookie of the Year honors from the Frisco Fire Department in Texas.
Last year, the former NFL player and Frisco Firefighter became the 150th emergency responder to earn the US&R Rescue Specialist Certificate from the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX).
Watkins got his dream. He’s a firefighter. Just as he always was and likely always will be.
When you look back on this story, its perplexing in so many ways yet is oddly so heartwarming. Danny Watkins was never a bust in the traditional sense because he never really wanted that life. It was the Eagles who ignored those red flags, those blaring sirens and the subtle quotes that hinted like a heartbroken man who can’t let go of his ex, longing for a reunion, his mind and heart were always elsewhere, regardless of how athletically dominant he was.
How the Philadelphia Eagles were somehow able to see through it all, then end up missing out an entire offseason with him and then watch all the rest of it unfold without even the smallest of concerns, is confounding. It’s purely on the former coaching staff and talent evaluators for letting rose tinted glasses get in the way of seeing a man who just wanted to help his community.
Danny Watkins won’t ever make it to Canton, but he’ll always be a local hero, in the small town of West Kelowna.
