Typical knowledge says speedy late-round broad receivers John Hightower and Quez Watkins will in all probability by no means make an impression for the Eagles.

Hightower is a fifth-round decide from Boise State, and Watkins is a sixth-round decide from Southern Mississippi. 

Drafting receivers within the fifth spherical or later is mostly a shedding proposition. 

Aside from 1990 fifth-round choice Calvin Williams and 2010 fifth-round decide Riley Cooper, it’s a must to return to Corridor of Famer Harold Carmichael, a seventh-round decide in 1971, to search out an Eagles’ late-round receiver that’s made any kind of impression in an Eagles uniform.

One of many world’s main NFL draft specialists, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, believes this 12 months might be an exception to that typical knowledge.

Zierlein, who research movie of greater than 500 draft-eligible gamers yearly, appeared on the Eagle Eye podcast Tuesday and mentioned how Hightower and Watkins would possibly slot in on an Eagles offense determined for pace.

Hightower, a JUCO switch, caught 82 passes for 1,447 yards and 14 TDs in simply 23 video games at the BCS stage.

However he’s 6-foot-2, 175 kilos and ran a 4.43 on the Mix.

“John Hightower is a big-time traits participant,” Zierlein mentioned. “He’s bought peak, weight, pace, he had an excellent exercise when he labored out, he’s a participant that I can see from a trait standpoint outplaying his fifth-round choice. And I do know John Hightower was a participant some scouts had been excessive on as a Day 3 sleeper on this draft. So I feel John Hightower within the fifth is a kind of actually sneaky worth alternatives the place you might find yourself plugging him in as a large reciever 6 and hold him round, hold him alive in your roster, till he continues to search out his approach as a route runner and be taught the NFL sport.”

Watkins ran 4.35 on the Mix, third-fastest of all broad receivers, behind Henry Ruggs of Alabama (4.27) and Javelin Guidry of Utah (4.29).

He had 159-for-2,404-17 in three years in Hattiesburg and had almost 1,200 yards this previous 12 months.

“Quez Watkins, blazing pace,” Zierlein mentioned. “I didn’t love his tape, however there have been some groups that had a fourth-round grade on him once I was going by means of the method of determining my draft slotting. I do know at the least two groups that had fourth-round grades on him and that was primarily based totally on their projections of him as a participant versus simply what they noticed on tape.”

As a result of this draft was so deep in broad receivers, some guys who would usually be first-round picks had been bumped down into the second spherical, guys who could be second-round picks dropped to the third, and so forth.

Hightower and Watkins should be longs hots. However they’re lengthy pictures that one of the crucial extremely regarded draft analysts assume have an opportunity.

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