Patrick Watkins (born December 18, 1982) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

and San Diego Chargers. He also was a member of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

and Edmonton Eskimos in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. He played college football at Florida State University.

Early years

Watkins attended Tallahassee's Lincoln High School and was a part of two state titles. As a junior, he registered 126 tackles and 5 interceptions. As a senior, he tallied 140 tackles, 6 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries and 6 kickoff returns for touchdowns. He received All-state, USA Today All-American and Parade magazine All-American honors.

College career

Watkins accepted a football scholarship from Florida State University. As a freshman, he appeared in 11 games as a backup, while making 10 tackles. As a sophomore, he appeared in all 13 games, making 62 tackles (fifth on the team), 3 interceptions (tied for the team lead) and 8 passes defensed (third on the team). His first career start came in the

2004 Orange Bowl The 2004 FedEx Orange Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Florida State Seminoles on January 1, 2004, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Miami defeated FSU 16–14 in a stout d ...

against the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

. As a junior, he started in all 12 games, posting 56 tackles, 4 interceptions (tied for second in the conference), 10 passes defensed (second on the team), 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries (tied for the team lead). As a senior, he appeared in all 13 games with 10 starts, registering 77 tackles (third on the team) and 3 interceptions (tied for the team lead). He finished his college career after playing in 49 straight games (23 starts) at both safety and

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

, while recording 10 interceptions.

Professional career

Pre-draft

At the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...

in February 2006, Watkins measured in at 6-foot-5 and 211 pounds, while posting a 40-yard-dash times of 4.42 seconds.

Dallas Cowboys

Watkins was selected by the

in the fifth round (138th overall) of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with add ...

. As a rookie, he appeared in 14 games with 9 starts. He registered 49 tackles (led rookies in the NFL), 3 interceptions (second among rookies in the NFL), 6 passes defensed, 4

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles, 2 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He also became one of the tallest

safeties Safety is the condition of being protected against harmful conditions or events, or the control of hazards to reduce risk. Safety may also refer to: Places * Safety Island, Antarctica Government * The Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating t ...

in NFL history. He was declared inactive in the fifth and sixth games, as Keith Davis took over the starting position for the next 6 contests. He returned to action in the tenth game against the Arizona Cardinals in a backup role, making his first career interception. In 2007, he became a core

player as a gunner. He posted 30 tackles, one interception, 3 passes defensed, 25

tackles (led the team) and also returned a blocked field goal 68 yards for a touchdown against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

. He missed 2 games with an ankle injury. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, he was moved from free to strong safety, but he didn't demonstrate the tackle technique needed for run support, finishing with 15 tackles, 9

tackles (eighth on the team). He missed 8 games with a neck injury and was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on December 2. In 2009, he collected 22 tackles and 18

tackles (second on the team). He appeared in 13 games with one start, before spraining his left PCL in the thirteenth game. He missed the remainder of the regular season, but returned for the playoffs. On August 30, 2010, he was released after missing the first 3 preseason games with a knee injury.

San Diego Chargers

On November 15, 2010, he was signed by the San Diego Chargers, with the intention of improving their

. On December 16, he was placed on the

, after re-aggravating his previous knee injury. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the season.

Toronto Argonauts (CFL)

On May 30,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, after being a year out of football recovering from his knee injury, he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

. He made 18 starts at right cornerback. He missed the Eastern Final and the Grey Cup championship game after fracturing his ankle. He finished with 67 tackles (third on the team), 5 interceptions (tied for first in the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

), 2 fumble recoveries and received

All-Star honors. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, he was again named to the

All-Star team, after making 17 starts, 43 tackles, 5 interceptions and one fumble recovery.

Edmonton Eskimos (CFL)

On February 12,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, he was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos as a

. In 18 starts he registered 36 tackles, 7 passes defensed, 4

tackles, 2 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery for a 50-yard touchdown. In 2015, he collected 66 tackles, 2 sacks and 4 interceptions (one returned for a 47-yard touchdown). He also contributed to the team winning the Grey Cup. In

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, he tallied 73 tackles and 2 interceptions. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

References

External links

Edmonton Eskimos bio

Pat Watkins: The Evolution of A CFL All-Star
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Pat 1982 births Living people African-American players of Canadian football American football safeties American players of Canadian football Canadian football defensive backs Dallas Cowboys players Edmonton Elks players Florida State Seminoles football players San Diego Chargers players Toronto Argonauts players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people Players of American football from Tallahassee, Florida