Jordan Watkins, WR, Ole Miss
Size:
Height: 5112
Weight: 196
Arm: 29 ⅜”
Hand: 9 ⅛”
Accomplishments:
Three-star recruit
“Jordan Watkins attacks defenses with quick, decisive movements and has underrated speed to attack deep and surprise defenders.”
Strengths:
Footwork
Releases
Hand usage against press
Eats up space
Concerns:
Catch radius
Body-catching
Zone recognition
Film Analysis:
Jordan Watkins was a three-star athlete out of Butler High School, the 24th-ranked athlete in the country, and the sixth-ranked player in Kentucky by Rivals.com. In his senior season, he rushed for 212 yards and three touchdowns on 29 attempts and added 37 catches for 712 and seven touchdowns before committing to Louisville for the 2020 season. He played two seasons for the Cardinals and accumulated 586 yards and four touchdowns on 43 receptions before transferring to Ole Miss to finish his career. He improved each of the past three seasons for the Rebels and is coming off his career-best season of 907 yards and nine touchdowns on 49 receptions. He entered the offseason with a ton of confidence.
Watkins is a compact receiver, coming in under six feet tall but around 200 pounds, and he played all over for the Ole Miss offense. Most of his snaps came from the slot in 2022 and 2023, but he played more than 65% of his snaps on the outside in 2024 and showed an impressive release package in his tool bag. His footwork at the line of scrimmage is quick and efficient; he can move corners laterally when pressed and quickly get upfield with explosive bursts. His acceleration and speed allow him to eat up space quickly, but he needs to open up his manipulation tactics and play with speeds more often to give defenders more to think about. He sells vertical routes well but needs more variation in what he’s selling. He’s more advanced with tools to defeat press coverage with fast hands and toughness through contact that sees him stacking corners vertically regularly.
He has a limited route tree, as many receivers who played for Ole Miss, but the tools to run a more expansive tree are there with his footwork, quickness in and out of breaks, and his deceleration. He plays a tough brand of football, but getting hands on his through the steam and at the top of his route will limit his separation at the next level. Watkins tracks the football well to all field levels and can quickly attack deep. Unfortunately, his arms are too short to consistently catch the football away from his frame and he drops the football too frequently. Focusing on attacking the football more instead of letting it travel to his body will help improve his catching. With the ball in his hands, Watkins attacks space quickly and shows the capacity to make quick moves, and defenders miss, but it's inconsistent throughout his tape. The tools are there to make guys miss in space underneath.
Reading defenses at the NFL level and building that football IQ will lift him to being an underneath possession receiver in his career. Watkins projects as a versatile NFL receiver who will be able to contribute on special teams but brings starting slot potential.
Prospect Projection: Day 3 — Developmental Traits
Written By: Daniel Harms
Exposures: Florida (2024), LSU (2024), South Carolina (2024), Arkansas (2024), Georgia (2024)
