B.C. native Watkins has chance to accomplish something that hasn't been done since 1986.
A B.C. born player, who was selected in the first round of the Canadian Football League Draft in 2010, could pull off a rare double by being selected also in the first round of the National Football League Draft.
Danny Watkins, whom the B.C. Lions drafted fourth overall last year out of Baylor, is being projected in various 2011 NFL mock drafts to be selected in the late stages of the first round.
The draft starts on April 30th in New York.
The last player to be drafted first in both drafts was Mike Schad. In 1986 he was selected fourth overall by the Ottawa Roughrider and 23rd overall by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Schad is the only Canadian player selected in the first round who played university ball in Canada, in his case Queen’s.
The first round of the NFL draft begins April 28th and the Bleachereport.com has Watkins listed to go 22nd overall to the Indianapolis Colts. CBSSports.com and Nationalfootballpost.com both peg him at 28th overall to New England, while NFLDraft101.com picked him at 29th to the Chicago Bears.
Watkins played tackle at Baylor but is projected as more of a guard in the NFL.
Watkins is one of the more interesting stories going into the draft because he is 26 and at least four years older than many of the players eligible for the draft. He has had only two years of playing at an NCAA Division 1 school, after playing his first two years of U.S. College ball at Butte College, a Division 3 school in California.
He didn’t begin playing football until his first year at university, which he attended first and foremost to get a degree in fire sciences.
"Do I expect to see him in June (at training camp) in Kamloops? No." B.C. Lions general manager and head coach Wally Buono told Sportsnet.ca. "Would I like to be able to see him (at training camp)? Yes. But I’m realistic enough to believe that’s not going to happen."
Buono said he drafted Watkins in the first round believing if the team waited he wouldn’t be available later.
"You play gymnastics in the draft," Buono added. "When (Bishop’s wideout) Shawn Gore got signed (as a free agent) by the Green Bay Packers, we expected he’d be available to us in the second round and we knew if we didn’t draft Danny Watkins he’d be gone by the time we picked in the second round."
"You take a little bit of a risk, saying ‘we know that Shawn Gore will probably be available in the second round, let’s take Danny Watkins in the first,’" Buono said. "This way you get both guys. Would we be willing to wait for both of them (to eventually play for the Lions)? Yes. Last year when we drafted Danny Watkins his NFL radar was very, very diminished."
However, it has skyrocketed because of his senior year. The Sporting News picked Watkins first overall among 14 seniors who improved their stock at the recent NFL Combine.
"We felt with his age, he might be a low draft choice or a free agent kind of guy and the risk of taking him would be less than a guy like (Nevada offensive lineman) John Bender, who had much more NFL notoriety."
The website bleed-green.com summed up Watkins as a "talented and driven prospect, who is most known for his late emergence as a football player. Watkins has as much potential as any offensive lineman in the 2011 NFL Draft and with even a small amount of coaching at the next level, could grow into one of the game’s premier interior blockers."
NFLDraft101.com said of Watkins: He has the strength to anchor pass pro and the athleticism to make blocks down the line and on the second level in the ground game. Played tackle at Baylor allowing him to play outside if necessary.
ESPN.com, which projects Watkins as a late first-round selection or early second-rounder, said: One thing that is impressive about him is his balance. He is always under control, both as a run-blocker and pass-blocker. He plays with a good pad level and a consistent wide base. He doesn't have explosive power, but it's natural power. When you look at him, he's the type of player who doesn't necessarily jump out at you because he's making it almost look too easy. He has a lot of experience and he was one guy, when we popped on the tape that we were really excited to see.
Phillip Blake, a teammate of Watkins and also a fellow linemate, is touted first overall for the 2011 CFL Draft, but because he has another year of college eligibility he is expected to slip to a lower number because some teams may not want to take players they expect to be ready to sign and play immediately.
