Sammy Watkins’ must start over with the L.A. Rams and Jared Goff
Sammy Watkins was involved in a surprising trade between the L.A. Rams and the Buffalo Bills yesterday afternoon. Now the former Clemson star must quickly build a connection with last years No. 1 overall pick, Jared Goff.
Since entering the NFL in 2014, Watkins’ career has been a roller coaster ride. While he has flashed the explosiveness that made him the most coveted wide receiver prospect in the 2014 NFL Draft, his production has been lacking.
In his three seasons as a pro, Watkins has recorded just one 1,000+ yard receiving year. The former Tigers’ total receptions have decreased in every year since he arrived in Buffalo going from 65 in 2014, to 60 in 2015 and 28 in 2016.
Much of Watkins’ woes can be attributed to the Bills instability at quarterback. During his rookie season, Watkins’ caught passes from both Kyle Orton and EJ Manuel who split time as Buffalo’s starting quarterback.
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In 2015, Tyrod Taylor was brought over from the Baltimore Ravens during free agency. In his first year with Taylor, Watkins set career highs in receiving yards (1,047) and touchdowns (9). The former ACC stars quickly built a strong connection. If Watkins’ season being cut short by a nagging foot injury, he and Taylor figured to have a big year in 2016.
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Now that Watkins has been traded to the L.A. Rams, he is forced to start over with yet another quarterback. Barring any unforeseen injuries, that quarterback will be Jared Goff. The Rams young signal caller was thrown into the fire as a rookie and he played about as bad as could be expected.
As a rookie, Goff started seven games, completing just 54.6 percent of his passes for 1,089 yards and five touchdowns to seven interceptions. While these numbers certainly aren’t encouraging, it was his first time starting in the NFL.
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Sammy Watkins and Jared Goff have an opportunity to help each other in 2017. Both players are looking to solidify themselves as franchise players. Without one another that will not be possible. The two of them will need to put in as much work together as possible with the regular season starting less than a month from now.