The week 1 status of Sammy Watkins is up in the air due to his second rib injury of the preseason, an ailment sustained in the August 23 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But he was viewed before the draft as a sure-thing at the receiver position, and has looked and played the part thus far.
The rookie wideout’s excellent performance throughout training camp at St. John Fisher College did nothing to quell the hype, but instead has grown expectations for his first pro season. Fans will want a lot from Watkins, as the Bills have had nine consecutive losing seasons and hasn’t seen the playoffs in more than a decade.
And he’s the hope of a franchise: the Bills took great pains to acquire him – sacrificing their No. 9 pick this year, 1st and 4th round picks in next year’s draft – a “very high cost” according to General Manager Doug Whaley.
“We thought this guy was going to get us to the playoffs,” said Whaley. “We think for us, the Bills organization, Mr. Wilson and the Bills nation out there, it was well worth it.”
“We went in to this draft saying we were going to be bold and we made a bold move. Obviously Sammy Watkins was a player that was very, very, very high on our board and someone that we felt could contribute immediately,” CEO Russ Brandon said.
During camp, Watkins serenated several times with chants of “Sammy, Sammy”, and has instantly become a fan favorite for the crowds at St. John Fisher College. The young receiver has shown great ability to make highlight-reel plays on even routine routes, and has shown willingness to catch passes in traffic.
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In one of the first practices of camp, the former Clemson star caught a pair of deep touchdowns, but perhaps his signature play come on a catch that netted much less yards, but even more applause. Manuel had a quick pass batted at the line of scrimmage and high into the air. Watkins, between a trio of defenders, leaped up to grab the ball with the three defenders trying to make a play on the ball.
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The wideout gave fans a scare by having to leave the field and be evaluated for a few minutes, but eventually came back to play the rest of practice, with head coach Doug Marrone saying that Watkins was just poked in the eye. Spectators clapped for Watkins because of his fearlessness to make plays in traffic, something Marrone has known the rookie receiver has.
“He shows that,” Marrone said of Watkins’ fearlessness. “He’s made a very good career for himself, in college, being able to go over the middle. That’s always a big test when you get to this level to make sure you can come over the middle.”
The collective gasp of the fan base as Watkins was taken off the field not only then, but in two preseason games he left with a rib injury, not only shows how much they appreciate his talent and effort, but also the investment the Bills put in him. Watkins, however, does not feel any added pressure.
“Not at all,” Watkins said. “We’ve got a great team and I’ve got a great wide receiver core helping me out. A great quarterback, so there’s not really any pressure. I just have to come out here and have fun and keep doing what I’ve been doing, perfecting my craft.”
The final collegiate season for Watkins was a great one, as he caught 101 passes for 1,464 yards and 12 touchdowns. He ran a 4.39 40 yard dash at the NFL combine this past February at 6’1’’, 211 pounds, showcasing great speed combined with his size and strength.
The 21 year-old receiver has a very unique skill-set, one that allowed him to average over 14 yards per catch despite being in an offense that utilized a lot of bubble screens, swing passes, and shovel passes. In an interview with PPI in May, Watkins talked about how his ability to gain yards after catch is not just his athleticism, but the work he has put in:
“I did a lot,” said Watkins. “Everybody thinks we just wake up and are good. So for me, I work out a lot on separation, getting off the ball, being quick and fast with everything I do.”
It is not just skill and athleticism that makes him great, but a work ethic he learned from an influential figure in his life. Watkins told PPI that his real life hero and person he looks up to everyday is his grandfather:
“That’s the guy that helped me learn work ethic,” said Watkins. “To work for whatever you get. To make your own foundation, and not feed off someone else. And you don’t have to be out there making a lot of noise, just be quiet about what you do and just go with the flow.”
The Bills organization, according to Marrone, researched Watkins and his time at Clemson extensively. The team came away very impressed with Watkins’ work ethic, as it was exactly what they wanted out of their top pick.
“I think that’s what we want and what we look for,” said Marrone. “Not to say that we had any more insight than anyone else, but obviously there are people on that staff at Clemson that I’ve worked with, scouts that I’m very close to. These are things we knew ahead of time, which I give credit to our scouting department and Doug Whaley.
“There’s a gentleman on that staff that I worked with that I have a great amount of respect for. He said to me that, ‘He’s one of the most humble superstars that I’ve been around.’ And he’s been around some big-time superstars.”
The humble superstar still studies tape and looks critically at his performance, even though he has arguably been the most impressive player in camp. Even if he does catch a ball on a play, Watkins said Sunday “it doesn’t necessarily mean” that he executed the play correctly:
“We definitely like to break everything down and critique things and we take it very seriously,” said Watkins. “We take pride in what we do and work with our coaches to do it correctly.”
The first-year pro is “a very mature kid”, according to Marrone, who cited his ability to answer questions and handle himself off the field as well as he does on it. In terms of on the field, Marrone said in May that he was “looking forward” to seeing how Watkins handled press coverage in training camp.
That question was answered very early in May, as Marrone saw that Watkins has the physical and mental attributes to beat corners playing press man against him:
“I think it’s a challenge, but I think he’s shown already that he can have multiple moves to get off it,” said Marrone. “He’s fast, he’s strong. But again, you’re going to be facing the top corners in the world. We feel that we’ll help him prepare because we feel we have very good corners on our football team to get him ready to go.”
Though rookie receivers usually have a tough time transitioning to the NFL in the first year, Watkins believes he can make an impact right away:
“For me it’s just about coming in right away and trying to make plays,” said Watkins. “Don’t try and be Superman, but play my role and everything will work out.”
Watkins both puts in the time, and believes in his skills enough to have the type of 1,000 yard rookie seasons receivers like A.J. Green, Randy Moss, and Anquan Boldin have had. Doubting his ability to perform at that level would be unwise.
