Buccaneers: Five best wide receivers on the 2017 schedule
5. Sammy Watkins
The Bucs take on the Buffalo Bills on October 22. Now, I understand he was hurt in 2016 and had an off-year. But, don’t fall asleep on this guy. Sammy Watkins, when healthy, is about as dangerous as anyone in the league, and he has something to prove.
First, take a look at his stats to date:
| Games | Receiving | Rushing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | No. | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Lng | R/G | Y/G | Ctch% | Rush | Yds | TD | Lng | Y/A | Y/G | A/G | YScm | RRTD | Fmb | AV |
| 2014 | 21 | BUF | WR | 14 | 16 | 16 | 128 | 65 | 982 | 15.1 | 6 | 84 | 4.1 | 61.4 | 50.8% | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 990 | 6 | 1 | 8 |
| 2015 | 22 | BUF | WR | 14 | 13 | 13 | 96 | 60 | 1047 | 17.5 | 9 | 63 | 4.6 | 80.5 | 62.5% | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1048 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 2016 | 23 | BUF | WR | 14 | 8 | 8 | 52 | 28 | 430 | 15.4 | 2 | 62 | 3.5 | 53.8 | 53.8% | 430 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |||||||
| Career | 37 | 37 | 276 | 153 | 2459 | 16.1 | 17 | 84 | 4.1 | 66.5 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 2468 | 17 | 1 | 21 |
His first two seasons weren’t just solid, they were explosive. In Watkins’ first 29 starts, he went over 100 yards nine times. Three times, he eclipsed the 150 yard mark. This is not a player that is invisible. He is a weapon deep, short, and on intermediate routes.
Furthermore, like I mentioned earlier, Watkins has something to prove. The Bills declined to pick up Watkins’ fifth-year option. So, unless the Bills sign him to a long-term deal, which is unlikely coming off of last year, 2017 will be his contract year. We all know players perform in their contract year. Even if Tyrod Taylor is the quarterback, Watkins will have a big year.