A fourth-round draft pick of the Eagles in 2014, Jaylen Watkins has had trouble carving out a defined role on defense. The 5-foot-11 defensive back bounced between cornerback and safety while appearing in only eight games over two seasons, and is even on his second stint with the club.
After all that moving around, including a cup of coffee on the Bills' practice squad, it appears Watkins has finally found a home in defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's scheme. The 23-year-old is sticking at safety, where he was splitting first-team reps while starter Malcolm Jenkins was out with an injury.
Watkins has emerged as a favorite to not only make the Eagles' 53-man roster out of training camp, but also serve as the primary backup to Jenkins and Rodney McLeod. If that seems sudden or unexpected, perhaps it shouldn't be.
It turns out the Florida product might have a bit of an advantage over the competition.
"I've always had confidence in my knowledge of different defenses," Watkins said. "This defense is very similar, almost identical to what I ran in college. A lot of the carryover is already there. I'm able to match some calls that I read in college to now. It's pretty easy for me."
Watkins moved between corner and safety in college, as well. Yet while he often wound up finishing a season at corner, whether with the Eagles or Gators, he always began it at safety.
This time around, Watkins is showing the coaching staff enough to stick.
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"The last seven years, my spring has been safety," Watkins said. "[The Eagles' coaching staff] just kind of asked me to do it, and I didn't know how long it was, but I kind of grew a little bit over OTAs. I guess they liked what I did."
Re-signed in November, Watkins continued to impress in the Eagles' preseason opener on Thursday. He had four tackles, a pass breakup, nearly came up with an interception and provided generally sound coverage in the 17-9 win over the Buccaneers.
There's no question the third-year veteran looks more comfortable than in previous years with the Eagles. Watkins possesses the ability to play multiple positions, although his best fit may be on the back end.
"Just being able to cover the tight ends, which as you saw Thursday is a lot easier for me," Watkins said.
"It's good. I made all my tackles in the game Thursday, and I was confident."
Tackling is perhaps the greatest area of concern with Watkins, and may have been what prevented him from earning a spot out of last season's camp. Gunning then for the nickel cornerback job, Watkins was among the Eagles' best options in coverage, but had issues getting ball-carriers to the ground.
It's not merely a matter of Watkins' physicality or willingness to tackle, either. Tackling from the cornerback position or the slot is a different animal than tackling as a safety.
"I think the biggest thing for him is going to be tackling from the safety position," Schwartz said. "That's going to be his biggest challenge just because he's played mostly corner and it's a different angle and things like that. That's pretty much what he's been working on. But what you have seen is his ability to make a play on the ball, and he needs to continue to do that also."
Watkins understands the difference with his role. In fact, he stressed exactly what's on the line when he fails to wrap up and finish plays as a safety.
"You've gotta be more aggressive, take better angles," Watkins said. "Sometimes [when] you miss a tackle at corner, other guys get him down. At safety if you miss a tackle, it might be a touchdown. You're basically the safety net of the defense.
"Your whole mindset changes. You're not out there one-on-one, you become the captain of the defense, so you have to think about the other 10 guys."
There's plenty of competition for those backup safety spots. The Eagles are likely to keep two on the roster, and veteran Chris Maragos is thought to have an edge as a special teams ace.
That leaves Watkins, 2014 fifth-round pick Ed Reynolds and rookie sixth-rounder Blake Countess competing for presumably one opening. All three have shown promise this summer, but Watkins' ascension on the depth chart was arguably the least likely.
Watkins is very much in the mix now, and now that he has a chance to play one position, in a scheme he's already familiar with, he could prove difficult to knock out of the competition.