Expect Sammy Watkins to tear it up his rookie year
Sammy Watkins was a hot commodity in the 2014 NFL Draft, because the kid is a younger, faster, stronger Anquan Boldin. Boldin has been pretty successful in the NFL since entering the league, and I expect Watkins to put up big numbers. Since 2002, the top wide outs drafted in the top 6 have put up some pretty decent numbers.
DRAFTED IN THE TOP SIX (since 2002)
1. AJ Green – 1057 receiving yards, 7 touchdowns
2. Julio Jones – 959 receiving yards, 8 touchdowns
3. Larry Fitzgerald – 780, 8 touchdowns
4. Andre Johnson 976, 4 touchdowns
5. Justin Blackmon – 865, 5 touchdowns
6. Calvin Johnson – 756, 4 touchdowns
7. Braylon Edwards – 512, 3 touchdowns
8. Charles Rogers 243, 3 touchdowns
I expect Watkins to put up better numbers than A.J. Green in his rookie year. The Buffalo Bills are a run first team, and that is obvious with Fred Jackson, C.J. Spiller, Bryce Brown and Anthony Dixon, but if you want to win in the NFL you have to be balanced. Sammy Watkins will be the guy that catches the majority of the balls in Buffalo. If he fills the number one spot for Stevie Johnson and is targeted the same amount of times (75 plus), I would expect Sammy to break the numbers of the previous guys. Stevie Johnson was injured last year, but the three years previous to last, he caught 70 plus balls, and averaged 6 to 7 touchdowns a season. He also went over 1000 yards in each of those seasons.
Sammy Watkins is way faster than Stevie Johnson, has better hands than Stevie and has the potential to be the best player in the NFL for YAC since Terrell Owens. I expect Watkins to touch the ball at least 14 times a game. I would think the Bills target him quite a bit, no matter how they use him, I think he will be a very good fantasy football option. The team will need to open up the lanes for the power run game, and the only way to do that is have a balanced attack. Expect Sammy (if healthy) to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.
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