Meet Eagles First Round Pick Danny Watkins

Drafting an offensive lineman in the first round may not be the flashy pick, but let's be honest it's the pick that allows other positions to shine. This is exactly what the Philadelphia Eagles were banking on when drafting Baylor offensive guard Danny Watkins.

Canadian native Watkins grew up playing hockey, but his size (6'3, 310) made it difficult to pursue a career in the NHL. Watkins attended Butte Junior College in Chico, CA with the intention of earning a degree in fire sciences and returning home to be a firefighter. A friend encouraged Watkins to try out for the junior college football team and it's been a whirlwind for Danny ever since.

After two years at Butte, he landed at Baylor University, making an immediate impact. This was no small fete considering he stepped in to fill the shoes of the 2009 2nd overall pick, Jason Smith. Watkins started all 25 games of his career, and in his senior season recorded 134 tackles plus earned first team All-Big 12 honors. Not bad for a guy who only had two years of previous football experience!

Coach Andy Reid is hoping Watkins will add muscle to an offensive line that's in need of some help. His versatility is appealing (at some point he's played all positions on the line), he's a quick learner with a good work ethic and while some may be cautious about his age, his maturity is something the Eagles are counting on.

Michael Vick's ability to scramble outside of the pocket masked some weaknesses of the Eagles interior, but even still the line allowed 50 sacks last year, the most in Reid's 12 years as head coach. Face it, even as dynamic of a player as Vick is, he can't keep that pace up year after year.

Obviously a top priority for the Eagles is beefing up their line so players like Vick, Jackson and McCoy can shine even brighter. Reid is extremely pleased he got his guy, "He's a heck of a player in the run and pass game. I can't tell you how happy we are to have him in our program."

Watkins story isn't typical of a first round pick, but he's a first round pick nonetheless. In my opinion any guy planning to run into burning building for a living should be able to handle the pressures of being an NFL lineman. Now living up to the expectation of Philly fans, that's a whole different story!!