26CornerBlitz Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 @TyDunne Sammy Watkins panel: Andre Reed, Tim Brown, James Lofton, Cris Carter, Eric Moulds analyze the #Bills WR, the trade: https://t.co/2kbiR4zvEF Two years ago, Doug Whaley put his job on the line. The Buffalo Bills general manager traded away first- and fourth-round picks to move up five slots and draft wide receiver Sammy Watkins.Very rarely do NFL teams ever give up draft capital to this degree. But the Bills saw a star, a transcendent talent, a player worth a king's ransom.So, two seasons in, on the verge of another NFL draft, was it worth it?When healthy, arguably no receiver was better last season. Watkins finished with 60 receptions for 1,047 yards (17.4 avg.) and nine touchdowns. The 6-foot-1, 211-pounder from Clemson burnt corners deep, thwarted double-teams and punctuated the season by opening up new condos all over "Revis Island" in the season finale.And yet, Watkins has also suffered seven injuries in two seasons. That 2014 draft? Probably the best ever for the position. Buffalo could’ve stayed at No. 9, kept their picks and landed three starters instead of one.So to get the answer, The News turned to a panel of wide receivers, including four Hall of Famers. All see a special talent in Watkins, a talent that’ll need to stay on the field for the Bills to truly reap the rewards.
metzelaars_lives Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 (edited) Yes, of course it was. It wasn't in the sense that ok, we could've stayed at 9 and taken Beckham. But a) according to most, we probably wouldn't have taken Beckham and b) everybody had Watkins ahead of Beckham going into the draft; in fact, a lot of people had Watkins as the #1 overall player in the whole draft. Bottom line, Watkins is worth a 9th overall pick and a 20th overall pick or whatever we would've picked last year. Just imagine if we had Ebron and some guard instead of Watkins. I liked the move at the time and I still do today. Sit back relax and marvel at the season he is going to have this year now that the Bills finally realized you have to get the ball in his hands even when he's not wide open. And believe me, if Beckham was on the Bills the last two years and Watkins was on the Giants, we'd think about these two players very differently. Watkins is a complete beast just like everyone knew he would be. Ok just read the article. What the hell is James Lofton talking about when he tries to make the analogy involving an appetizer at a restaurant? Edited March 27, 2016 by metzelaars_lives
Reed83HOF Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 Ok just read the article. What the hell is James Lofton talking about when he tries to make the analogy involving an appetizer at a restaurant? I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought that...
FireChan Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 Yes, of course it was. It wasn't in the sense that ok, we could've stayed at 9 and taken Beckham. But a) according to most, we probably wouldn't have taken Beckham and b) everybody had Watkins ahead of Beckham going into the draft; in fact, a lot of people had Watkins as the #1 overall player in the whole draft. Bottom line, Watkins is worth a 9th overall pick and a 20th overall pick or whatever we would've picked last year. Just imagine if we had Ebron and some guard instead of Watkins. I liked the move at the time and I still do today. Sit back relax and marvel at the season he is going to have this year now that the Bills finally realized you have to get the ball in his hands even when he's not wide open. And believe me, if Beckham was on the Bills the last two years and Watkins was on the Giants, we'd think about these two players very differently. Watkins is a complete beast just like everyone knew he would be. Ok just read the article. What the hell is James Lofton talking about when he tries to make the analogy involving an appetizer at a restaurant? Saying the move was worth it, because if we didn't do it we'd draft bums, is an interesting argument.
Green Lightning Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 The BN editors should take a cue from the TSW mods and suggest Tyler use the search function as this topic has been discussed ad nauseam.
Mr. WEO Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 The BN editors should take a cue from the TSW mods and suggest Tyler use the search function as this topic has been discussed ad nauseam. But but, Dunne is an awesome reporter, no? Is he not the greatest writer of people's quotes? I'm guessing Dunne already did read the threads on this topic on TSW....
YoloinOhio Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 In the words of Rex, "no question." Especially looking at the other WRs in that draft and the two drafts after that..
Deranged Rhino Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 Sammy was the best WR in that class and will end up being a tremendous star in the NFL over the long term. Right now he's arguably the best player on the entire Buffalo roster, certainly on the offensive side of the ball at the very least. Loved the move then, still love it now. #14 is going to have a monster year in '16.
PromoTheRobot Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 The BN editors should take a cue from the TSW mods and suggest Tyler use the search function as this topic has been discussed ad nauseam.How do you think they get their ideas?
John from Riverside Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 I think its a yes based on the reports of that we would have taken that TE that is on the Lions...not ODB Could you imagine if that would have happened.....and Watkins goes to some other team and is the Sammy Watkins we have now? Then....you factor in that with no 1st round pick the next year we STILL found Darby in the 2nd......what if (since we are playing the what if game) we take a db in the 1st of last year because we still have the pick.....and PASS on Darby because we took the db in the 1st?
Coach Tuesday Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 I still think it's a closer question than many of you. But regardless, they drafted Sammy for a coach who ran a simple "two yards and a cloud of dust, then punt" offense, who didn't want him. And then they hired an offensive coordinator who doesn't feature his receivers. You can't look at the pick/trade in a vacuum. What's the long-term strategy? I'm still not sure...
Kirby Jackson Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 For me it was a no-brained at the time and I stand by that. When you have a chance to get a "can't miss" star you shouldn't think twice. There are certain guys that have little to no downside, high floors and high ceilings. I felt the same way about Khalil Mack. These guys are different from guys like Clowney with a high ceiling but a lot of risk.
BetterNextYearRight? Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 A definite yes he was worth it. Only player in his talent league on the roster is Dareus, Sammy just can't throw the ball to himself unless Roman invents some crazy pass plays. People really seem to forget that Beckham Jr. wasn't exactly setting the world on fire at LSU. If I remember correctly, he was a deep threat who wasn't consistently showing up every game. Landry was the big chain mover at LSU, and probably should have been rated higher coming out of college. Landry and Bryant were both very underrated that year. Watkins and Evans were projected top 10 picks, and both Benjamin and Beckham were anywhere from mid 1st to late 2nd.
BADOLBILZ Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 @TyDunne Sammy Watkins panel: Andre Reed, Tim Brown, James Lofton, Cris Carter, Eric Moulds analyze the #Bills WR, the trade: https://t.co/2kbiR4zvEF Yes, it was a good trade. I thought Watkins was the best player in that draft class.........and my guess is that OBJ will fade and Sammy will be the better player over the long haul. It's interesting to note that Watkins didn't overwhelm in the 40 pre-draft but was arguably the fastest receiver in pads in the NFL last year. His skill level is under-appreciated nationally because he plays on a bad team that has been one of the worst passing teams in the league in his first couple seasons. Their mistake at the WR position has been passing over talented players at the position while reaching for need with the picks they've had since.
John from Riverside Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 Yes, it was a good trade. I thought Watkins was the best player in that draft class.........and my guess is that OBJ will fade and Sammy will be the better player over the long haul. It's interesting to note that Watkins didn't overwhelm in the 40 pre-draft but was arguably the fastest receiver in pads in the NFL last year. His skill level is under-appreciated nationally because he plays on a bad team that has been one of the worst passing teams in the league in his first couple seasons. Their mistake at the WR position has been passing over talented players at the position while reaching for need with the picks they've had since. Its time to start getting him more involved at beginning of seasons instead of the end. What makes you think OBJ will fade? I think OBJ is a excellent player......I also think his smallish frame puts him at risk for nasty hits. Sammy Watkins is biult like a mack truck
BADOLBILZ Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 What makes you think OBJ will fade? Smaller player, has had hamstring issues, personality less than ideal. He's a great player playing with a possible HOF QB right now but we've seen some small receivers flash greatness then fall out in great part due to personality problems affecting their on-field performance as well as the fact that small players have a lesser margin for error when it comes to losing a step. I could be wrong, but that's just my feeling. Sammy hasn't held up his end entirely......he's been hurt and has put his foot in his mouth more often than expected........but he seemed to make big strides in all regards in the second half of last season.
Deranged Rhino Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 What makes you think OBJ will fade? His attitude, his lack of mental toughness.
dayman Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 Measured against optimal draft picks with the benefit of hindsight? No. Measured against almost anything else? Yes.
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