PromoTheRobot Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Maybe it's revisionist history, but I have seen recent reports that before the 2014 draft, more than a few scouts viewed Watkins as a very good prospect (15th to 20th selection) rather than an elite one (top five). At the time, almost all of the reports I remember seeing fell into the former category and don't think there was any way Watkins would have dropped to 9, but apparently there were some doubters... Definitely revisionist history. Kirby is correct. Watkins was considered elite, considered head and shoulders above the rest of the WR class. And he's played like that when healthy. We always piss and moan about finding elite talent and here we have one and we want to run him out of town because people think he's injured just to spite us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 I don't doubt it. As I said, there is no way Watkins would have lasted until pick 9, so the trade up was defensible at least from that standpoint. It drives me crazy when a team trades up for a guy who probably would have been available anyway. I heard some talk at the time from NFL analysts that Watkins was the very best player available in the draft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 I don't doubt it. As I said, there is no way Watkins would have lasted until pick 9, so the trade up was defensible at least from that standpoint. It drives me crazy when a team trades up for a guy who probably would have been available anyway. At the time of the draft, none of the other prospects, save for Evans, were considered elite. Very good, but not elite. That includes Beckham. Hindsight is awesome though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 I don't doubt it. As I said, there is no way Watkins would have lasted until pick 9, so the trade up was defensible at least from that standpoint. It drives me crazy when a team trades up for a guy who probably would have been available anyway.Yep, that's always nuts. I watched the draft this year with my friend that's a Bear's fan. He almost died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenorthremembers Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 The only question left to ask on Sammy is if you'd pay top ten wideout money to someone like Golden Tate or Emmanuel Sanders. Sammy's production is similar, would be better if he could be on the field for more than 12-13 games a year on average. He has all the talent in the world but at this point I wouldnt pay him top wideout money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Maybe, but those scouts, if they existed, were probably right (and I'm a big Sammy fan). LOL you're a big Sammy fan. Sammy's talent hasn't gone anywhere and I certainly don't remember seeing any mocks with Sammy outside the top 5. Scouts aren't always right, but even in this thread I haven't seen much doubt posted about Sammy's skill set. That is what scouts look at. If he had a knee problem or something it may have weighed, but he did not. I'm not saying the scouts are always right. 100% of scouts had the pedestrian Andrew Luck as the top pick in forever, and he has simply been passable in the NFL. Still, he has a visible skill set as does Sammy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannc Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Well then you had Julio Jones as a bust through year three. You failed miserably on that one. Interestingly, OJ Simpson, who played a much easier position to transition and played four years of college ball, did very little in his first three years in the NFL. He did not begin to realize his potential until year four, when the Bills got rid of Rauch and hired Chuck Knox...And the rest history. (Just had to add that because I'm reading the Jeff Toobin book about the OJ trial...Highly recommended.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 The only question left to ask on Sammy is if you'd pay top ten wideout money to someone like Golden Tate or Emmanuel Sanders. Sammy's production is similar, would be better if he could be on the field for more than 12-13 games a year on average. He has all the talent in the world but at this point I wouldnt pay him top wideout money. It is a interesting conversation.....there are a lot of extenuating circumstances here When Sammy is on the field? Back up the Brinks truck He needs to stay on the field Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Definitely revisionist history. Kirby is correct. Watkins was considered elite, considered head and shoulders above the rest of the WR class. And he's played like that when healthy. We always piss and moan about finding elite talent and here we have one and we want to run him out of town because people think he's injured just to spite us. It's just so ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanfan Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Interestingly, OJ Simpson, who played a much easier position to transition and played four years of college ball, did very little in his first three years in the NFL. He did not begin to realize his potential until year four, when the Bills got rid of Rauch and hired Chuck Knox...And the rest history. (Just had to add that because I'm reading the Jeff Toobin book about the OJ trial...Highly recommended.) It was Lou Saban, not Knox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 This bust talk is funny when you look at the on field production in light of the number of targets. Some people act as if he's in the category of previous 1st round picks like Mike Williams, JP Losman, McCargo, or Maybin. It's actually comical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanfan Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Definitely revisionist history. Kirby is correct. Watkins was considered elite, considered head and shoulders above the rest of the WR class. And he's played like that when healthy. We always piss and moan about finding elite talent and here we have one and we want to run him out of town because people think he's injured just to spite us. Except it's not that people think he's injured. He broke his foot and to this point has not been cleared to practice.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannc Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 (edited) LOL you're a big Sammy fan. I'm not sure what this is supposed to mean, but if Sammy was considered less than elite by some scouts it could have been because (a) he lacks ideal size (see AJ Green, Julio Jones and Megatron, for example), (b) he is fast but lacks true top-end speed, and © there were questions about how he was used in the Clemson offense, the concern being that he caught an awful lot of passes behind the LOS. Again, everyone agreed he was a first round talent... Edited May 31, 2017 by mannc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFunPolice Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Here's an idea... How about we keep him AND hope Zay Jones develops? How can you build a team by letting a guy go then drafting his replacement at the key positions? I get that you have to do that sometimes but how about stacking up some elite talent on the roster instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannc Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 It was Lou Saban, not Knox. Oops. My bad...that was before I moved to Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Except it's not that people think he's injured. He broke his foot and to this point has not been cleared to practice.. Probably a worthwhile precaution considering we rushed him back the last time. Also let's not forget Doug Marrone's foolishness of playing an injured Watkins in a 4th preseason game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Who Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Here's an idea... How about we keep him AND hope Zay Jones develops? How can you build a team by letting a guy go then drafting his replacement at the key positions? I get that you have to do that sometimes but how about stacking up some elite talent on the roster instead? Our penchant for replacing cornerbacks every few years has rubbed off into a general neurosis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Except it's not that people think he's injured. He broke his foot and to this point has not been cleared to practice.. Did he do it to spite the fans, the city, the team or the Pegulas? Maybe Rex. Maybe TT. It had to be somebody right? I mean seriously. How does someone break a bone in their foot? It has to be done from spite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Except it's not that people think he's injured. He broke his foot and to this point has not been cleared to practice.. No need to get him on the field before training camp at SJF with him still recovering from the 2nd procedure. Make sure he's 100% ready to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanfan Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Probably a worthwhile precaution considering we rushed him back the last time. Also let's not forget Doug Marrone's foolishness of playing an injured Watkins in a 4th preseason game. True. To me people are making way too big a deal about this. The Bills are exercising caution in wanting to give him the extension and/or a long term deal until they know he's healthy. I would bet if Sammy comes out and lights things up there's a deal done during the upcoming season, and I would further wager that the team and Sammy's people have had that kind of conversation already. All the angst in this thread is over a rumor spread by two rugby bloggers. Let's keep some perspective here. No need to get him on the field before training camp at SJF with him still recovering from the 2nd procedure. Make sure he's 100% ready to go. I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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