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Todd Watkins (born June 22, 1983) is an American football player who currently plays on the Arizona Cardinals' pratice squad. He played high school football at Helix High School. He was also a standout reciver at BYU.

Junior College Career

Career at BYU

Watkins transferred to Brigham Young University in 2004 and instantly earned a starting position at wide receiver. BYU opened up the 2004 season against Notre Dame, and Watkins made an immediate impact. His first reception as a Cougar was a spectacular 50-yard catch against double coverage; the play set up a touchdown on BYU’s first possession of the game. Late in the fourth quarter of that game, Watkins made another spectacular grab, a 37-yarder that sealed the Cougars’ 20-17 victory over the Irish.

Watkins gained national media attention with a spectacular performance against Boise State in the fourth game of the season. The Broncos held Watkins in check during the first half, but he was unstoppable in the second half. He finished with 9 receptions for 211 yards. He caught a 79-yard touchdown pass from John Beck in the third quarter, and added a 52-yard grab in the fourth quarter. BYU lost the game, but Watkins had established himself as a dangerous weapon for the Cougars.

For the season, Watkins totaled 52 receptions for 1,042 yards and 6 touchdowns. He averaged 94.7 receiving yards per game, a Mountain West Conference (MWC) record. He averaged 20.0 yards per reception- impressive enough that Sports Illustrated named him the best deep threat in the nation. For his efforts, Watkins was named First Team All-MWC and Honorable Mention All-American.

Expectations were high for Watkins as he entered his senior season at BYU. However, with a new head coach (Bronco Mendenhall) and a new offensive coordinator (Robert Anae), BYU’s offense relied heavily on shorter passing routes and quarterback John Beck threw fewer deep passes to Watkins. Also, with the departure of star freshman receiver Austin Collie, opposing defenses focused their pass coverage schemes directly at Watkins. He was often double-teamed (and sometimes tripled-team); consequently, his statistics declined in the 2005 season. He still finished with respectable numbers: 49 receptions for 678 yards and a team-high 9 touchdowns. He ended his college career with a strong showing against California in the Las Vegas Bowl: 5 catches for 93 yards and late fourth-quarter touchdown in BYU’s 35-28 loss.

Professional Career

After finishing his college career, Watkins pursued a career in the National Football League. For many NFL teams, he was an intriguing prospect. He possessed the physical tools needed to have success as a professional: great size (6-foot-3) and strength (325-pound bench press) combined with terrific speed (4.28 seconds in the 40-yard dash). He also showed an ability to out-leap defenders and make difficult catches. However, during his senior season, Watkins had dropped several wide-open passes and fumbled the ball a few times during important games. His stock declined sharply before the 2006 NFL Draft; he was eventually chosen in the seventh round (218th pick overall) by the Arizona Cardinals. He spent most of his rookie season on the Cardinals’ practice squad.

External links

http://www.byucougars.com/football/profiles/00000002094_ftb.html

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 ==Career at BYU==
-Watkins transferred to Brigham Young University in 2004 and instantly earned a starting position at wide receiver.  BYU opened up the 2004 season against Notre Dame, and Watkins made an immediate impact.  His first reception as a Cougar was a spectacular 50-yard catch against double coverage; the play set up a touchdown on BYU’s first possession of the game.  Late in the fourth quarter of that game, Watkins made another spectacular grab, a 37-yarder that sealed the Cougars’ 20-17 victory over the Irish.
+Watkins transferred to [[Brigham Young University]] in 2004 and instantly earned a starting position at wide receiver.  BYU opened up the 2004 season against [[Notre Dame]], and Watkins made an immediate impact.  His first reception as a Cougar was a spectacular 50-yard catch against double coverage; the play set up a touchdown on BYU’s first possession of the game.  Late in the fourth quarter of that game, Watkins made another spectacular grab, a 37-yarder that sealed the Cougars’ 20-17 victory over the Irish.
-Watkins gained national media attention with a spectacular performance against Boise State in the fourth game of the season.  The Broncos held Watkins in check during the first half, but he was unstoppable in the second half.  He finished with 9 receptions for 211 yards.  He caught a 79-yard touchdown pass from John Beck in the third quarter, and added a 52-yard grab in the fourth quarter.  BYU lost the game, but Watkins had established himself as a dangerous weapon for the Cougars.
+Watkins gained national media attention with a spectacular performance against [[Boise State]] in the fourth game of the season.  The Broncos held Watkins in check during the first half, but he was unstoppable in the second half.  He finished with 9 receptions for 211 yards.  He caught a 79-yard touchdown pass from [[John Beck]] in the third quarter, and added a 52-yard grab in the fourth quarter.  BYU lost the game, but Watkins had established himself as a dangerous weapon for the Cougars.
-For the season, Watkins totaled 52 receptions for 1,042 yards and 6 touchdowns.  He averaged 94.7 receiving yards per game, a Mountain West Conference (MWC) record.  He averaged 20.0 yards per reception- impressive enough that Sports Illustrated named him the best deep threat in the nation.  For his efforts, Watkins was named First Team All-MWC and Honorable Mention All-American.
+For the season, Watkins totaled 52 receptions for 1,042 yards and 6 touchdowns.  He averaged 94.7 receiving yards per game, a [[Mountain West Conference]] (MWC) record.  He averaged 20.0 yards per reception- impressive enough that [[Sports Illustrated]] named him the best deep threat in the nation.  For his efforts, Watkins was named First Team All-MWC and Honorable Mention [[All-American]].
-Expectations were high for Watkins as he entered his senior season at BYU.  However, with a new head coach (Bronco Mendenhall) and a new offensive coordinator (Robert Anae), BYU’s offense relied heavily on shorter passing routes and quarterback John Beck threw fewer deep passes to Watkins.  Also, with the departure of star freshman receiver Austin Collie, opposing defenses focused their pass coverage schemes directly at Watkins.  He was often double-teamed (and sometimes tripled-team); consequently, his statistics declined in the 2005 season.  He still finished with respectable numbers: 49 receptions for 678 yards and a team-high 9 touchdowns.  He ended his college career with a strong showing against California in the Las Vegas Bowl: 5 catches for 93 yards and late fourth-quarter touchdown in BYU’s 35-28 loss.
+Expectations were high for Watkins as he entered his senior season at BYU.  However, with a new head coach (Bronco Mendenhall) and a new offensive coordinator (Robert Anae), BYU’s offense relied heavily on shorter passing routes and quarterback John Beck threw fewer deep passes to Watkins.  Also, with the departure of star freshman receiver Austin Collie, opposing defenses focused their pass coverage schemes directly at Watkins.  He was often double-teamed (and sometimes tripled-team); consequently, his statistics declined in the 2005 season.  He still finished with respectable numbers: 49 receptions for 678 yards and a team-high 9 touchdowns.  He ended his college career with a strong showing against [[California]] in the [[Las Vegas Bowl]]: 5 catches for 93 yards and late fourth-quarter touchdown in BYU’s 35-28 loss.
 ==Professional Career==
-After finishing his college career, Watkins pursued a career in the National Football League.  For many NFL teams, he was an intriguing prospect.  He possessed the physical tools needed to have success as a professional: great size (6-foot-3) and strength (325-pound bench press) combined with terrific speed (4.28 seconds in the 40-yard dash).  He also showed an ability to out-leap defenders and make difficult catches.  However, during his senior season, Watkins had dropped several wide-open passes and fumbled the ball a few times during important games.  His stock declined sharply before the 2006 NFL Draft; he was eventually chosen in the seventh round (218th pick overall) by the Arizona Cardinals.  He spent most of his rookie season on the Cardinals’ practice squad.
+After finishing his college career, Watkins pursued a career in the [[National Football League]].  For many NFL teams, he was an intriguing prospect.  He possessed the physical tools needed to have success as a professional: great size (6-foot-3) and strength (325-pound bench press) combined with terrific speed (4.28 seconds in the 40-yard dash).  He also showed an ability to out-leap defenders and make difficult catches.  However, during his senior season, Watkins had dropped several wide-open passes and fumbled the ball a few times during important games.  His stock declined sharply before the [[2006 NFL Draft]]; he was eventually chosen in the seventh round (218th pick overall) by the [[Arizona Cardinals]].  He spent most of his rookie season on the Cardinals’ practice squad.