Packers Sign Sammy Watkins

[go pak go]

Weren't some of yall pushing for him like a month ago? I remember someone here sold me on him, so I'm glad to see us try him out.

Myself and @Ghost_Lombardi were all aboard this train for a while. Others didn't disagree. Some others may have been on the bandwagon.

This honestly just made too much sense not to happen. Honestly.

Yup! You nailed this one!!!

For everyone wanting that "immediate Adams replacement" in the draft....

this is your guy. This is your immediate replacement. Now we can draft that developmental/maybe make a splash as a #2 guy.

[YoHoChecko]

Just to express my satisfaction without re-typing all the reasons I love this move, here are some old posts:

Trades are dumb. We need cheap players. Spending picks on guys who cost money right now is dumb.

To clarify what drunk YoHo was saying:

Obviously not ALL trades are dumb.....

Add any of:
- Sammy Watkins
- Julio Jones
- AJ Green
- Jarvis Landry
- Will Fuller
- TY Hilton
- Keelan Cole

It just makes SO much more sense to me to sign 1 or 2 of these guys on the cheap and maintain our full compliment of draft picks to try to build a bridge to the future in that position (and get young, cheap contributors for the next 3 years), who will certainly have some impact as rookies, to complement the veterans and fill out the roster at this position.

I genuinely can't get over how much sense Sammy Watkins makes. He's been an athletically capable role player in some spread-the-ball or run-first offenses for most of his career. He contributed to the Rams' offense under MLF in 2017 to the tune of 500 yards and 8 TDs. He has the size (6'1", 210ish pounds) not to be a run game liability. He'll only be 29 this season.

He's my top target. But if we added a field-stretcher like Will Fuller or even AJ Green (different kind of field stretcher; less pure speed more ball tracking, awareness, route savvy) alongside him, we'd be perfectly set up to have a nice corps this year at the position and to address it in the draft, still heavily.

I just popped in here once again to re-assert that I cannot explain clearly enough how blatantly obvious it is to me that Sammy Watkins should be a Packer this year.

I know he'll probably get hurt at some point, because he does that. But good grief, he's the ideal fit right now.

Why do you like Sammy Watkins? He is a 400 yard per season WR with 3 total TD's over the last 2 seasons. He is an 8 year veteran and is basically a WR#3. Why do you think he has potential beyond what he has produced over the last 2 seasons?

I'm glad you asked.

Basically because he was injured last year. His start to the season, getting basically 4 catches for 60 yards per game, before injury, in a run-first offense with no other weapons, was solid. In KC, he was asked to do more dirty work. His role was not to get targets, but to support the focal points of the scheme, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. I posted recently a list of the #2 WRs in KC's offense over the years and it was closer to 500 yards more often than it was to 800 yards. Most of his career, he has been in run-first offenses or offenses that had other focal points, and he has been a role player.

Now, he isn't going to suddenly be an elite #1. But we need a guy who is a starting caliber outside receiver who is also willing to play an unselfish role. And we need a guy who knows how to run routes and who has the physical build to perform a variety of tasks.

His 4.33 speed is likely gone, sapped by some injury and time. But he's still a 4.4s guy, for sure.

So what we have here is a guy who is 28 years old. His past two seasons, he has underperformed due to injuries. If he were 32 and had two rough injury years, you think "this guy is done." But going into aged 29 season? Injuries mean he's cheap, not washed.

I asked my buddy who's a smart football fan and a Ravens fanatic what he thought of Sammy Watkins this year. His answer was "Very tough guy who was good at what he does that was injured all year. Mad respect."

I also looked for some analysis of what people were saying when he joined the Ravens last year. Given that the Ravens were an offensive mess this year, and that Watkins clearly wasn't the same guy when he returned from injury (and left the lineup again shortly after, indicating he rushed back), I wanted to see how he was viewed coming off of only one down year.

The quotes I saw from Watkins were exactly what I'd like to see. He blended the unselfish, play for each other and the team not for ourselves rhetoric with the "I'm ready to play somewhere where my role is less to open things up for others and more to catch the ball"

So he's a guy who is 6'1", 210ish pounds, played for MLF with the Rams in 2017, can run faster than most of our current receivers, understands the nature of role playing at WR but is hungry to go somewhere where he can receive more targets, runs pretty good routes, has some juice left, and is incredibly cheap because he's coming off of back-to-back years of being banged up enough to neuter his production.

I know he's a couple years older, but this is the kind of "he has the traits but has rarely been placed in a scheme to accentuate them" value that Campbell presented to us.

Size, budget, scheme fit and familiarity, athletic traits that still show up in his game, team-first guy. Why on earth WOULDN'T I want him?

[go pak go]

[Yoop]

well not to be a horn blower or anything, but I wanted Slammin Sammy when he in HS, so there

Bring on Julio, ya can never have enough vet WR's

[go pak go]

well not to be a horn blower or anything, but I wanted Slammin Sammy when he in HS, so there

Bring on Julio, ya can never have enough vet WR's

I disagree. I think 3 vet WRs is enough. We do need help on STs. I fully expect Lazard to be a key STs contributor this year.

But Watkins, Lazard, Cobb, Rookie, Rookie, Rodgers is a real good start for that group.

[NCF]

well not to be a horn blower or anything, but I wanted Slammin Sammy when he in HS, so there

Bring on Julio, ya can never have enough vet WR's

I disagree. I think 3 vet WRs is enough. We do need help on STs. I fully expect Lazard to be a key STs contributor this year.

But Watkins, Lazard, Cobb, Rookie, Rookie, Rodgers is a real good start for that group.

I agree with [mention]Yoop[/mention]. If a vet is better than anyone in that group and will play, then get him. Not a stretch that this vet, Watkins, Lazard, and Cobb could all be gone next year, so I would rather just focus on this year now and plan on CY rookies and Rodgers for 2023 forward.

[go pak go]

well not to be a horn blower or anything, but I wanted Slammin Sammy when he in HS, so there

Bring on Julio, ya can never have enough vet WR's

I disagree. I think 3 vet WRs is enough. We do need help on STs. I fully expect Lazard to be a key STs contributor this year.

But Watkins, Lazard, Cobb, Rookie, Rookie, Rodgers is a real good start for that group.

I agree with @Yoop. If a vet is better than anyone in that group and will play, then get him. Not a stretch that this vet, Watkins, Lazard, and Cobb could all be gone next year, so I would rather just focus on this year now and plan on CY rookies and Rodgers for 2023 forward.

Yeah Rodgers and the rookies mean nothing to me for 2023.

I'm more on the STs boat.

Every year we b*tch in the fall and winter how this team never emphasizes STs. And then comes offseason and nobody wants to emphasize STs. It's just like how in the fall and winter we b*tch how we have perinneally injured players, but then in the offseason get all hyped on signing someone because their injury history makes them "cheap"

I'm all for giving Julio an offer after the draft if we don't get a WR we want though.

[Ghost_Lombardi]

Busy at work. Just saw the news.

I think I jizzed in my pants.

[Yoop]

well not to be a horn blower or anything, but I wanted Slammin Sammy when he in HS, so there

Bring on Julio, ya can never have enough vet WR's

I disagree. I think 3 vet WRs is enough. We do need help on STs. I fully expect Lazard to be a key STs contributor this year.

But Watkins, Lazard, Cobb, Rookie, Rookie, Rodgers is a real good start for that group.

I agree with @Yoop. If a vet is better than anyone in that group and will play, then get him. Not a stretch that this vet, Watkins, Lazard, and Cobb could all be gone next year, so I would rather just focus on this year now and plan on CY rookies and Rodgers for 2023 forward.

that was my thought as well, things change fast, I thought Yoho hit the nail on the head when he said bring in Julio to, ( or another) simply because those we do bring in will be older and more injury prone, same with everyone we do have now, Cobb can't seem to stay on the field, Amari is still a ? mark, that leaves Lazard, but he being the healthiest still has lost some games, hense my comment.

[Yoop]

I disagree. I think 3 vet WRs is enough. We do need help on STs. I fully expect Lazard to be a key STs contributor this year.

But Watkins, Lazard, Cobb, Rookie, Rookie, Rodgers is a real good start for that group.

I agree with @Yoop. If a vet is better than anyone in that group and will play, then get him. Not a stretch that this vet, Watkins, Lazard, and Cobb could all be gone next year, so I would rather just focus on this year now and plan on CY rookies and Rodgers for 2023 forward.

Yeah Rodgers and the rookies mean nothing to me for 2023.

I'm more on the STs boat.

Every year we b*tch in the fall and winter how this team never emphasizes STs. And then comes offseason and nobody wants to emphasize STs. It's just like how in the fall and winter we b*tch how we have perinneally injured players, but then in the offseason get all hyped on signing someone because their injury history makes them "cheap"

I'm all for giving Julio an offer after the draft if we don't get a WR we want though.

well I'am all for improving ST's, and we will, but not at the expense of the offense, we need receivers, more then we need gunners, or returners, we can pick up prospect to do that stuff any where in the draft, lots harder to find receivers.

[go pak go]

I agree with @Yoop. If a vet is better than anyone in that group and will play, then get him. Not a stretch that this vet, Watkins, Lazard, and Cobb could all be gone next year, so I would rather just focus on this year now and plan on CY rookies and Rodgers for 2023 forward.

Yeah Rodgers and the rookies mean nothing to me for 2023.

I'm more on the STs boat.

Every year we b*tch in the fall and winter how this team never emphasizes STs. And then comes offseason and nobody wants to emphasize STs. It's just like how in the fall and winter we b*tch how we have perinneally injured players, but then in the offseason get all hyped on signing someone because their injury history makes them "cheap"

I'm all for giving Julio an offer after the draft if we don't get a WR we want though.

well I'am all for improving ST's, and we will, but not at the expense of the offense, we need receivers, more then we need gunners, or returners, we can pick up prospect to do that stuff any where in the draft, lots harder to find receivers.

At the expense of what then?

I mean we say this every year.

Our current situation is we have no safeties. Our CBs really have no STs contributors (#22 ain't it). Our 2 backup ILBs didn't really do much on STs last year (Burks is gone). Our starting TE is hurt. Our TE #2 is almost 40 years old. Our two RBs aren't going to be on Teams because they play too much as is. Our #3 RB is currently on IR. The other one isn't really speedy enough for specialist positions.

I mean you can see pretty quick when you don't make STs a priority...we get what we had last year.

Your gunners and returners not only need to be good at what they do, but they also have to take a WR or CB/S spot. If we sign Julio, that makes WR #1 - 4 on the roster a veteran. You usually only dress 5 WRs or less on gameday.

Sure sign Jones if he's willing to come on a similar deal. But I imagine he isn't. And I think we are at a better spot now where we don't have to pay mucho bucks for him either.

[go pak go]

All that being said. I don't want to spend a 1st on a WR so if Jones helps us not have to do that.

Then good deal.

[Crazylegs Starks]

Good signing! Hopefully Watkins works out better than Devin Funchess did

[wallyuwl]

All that being said. I don't want to spend a 1st on a WR so if Jones helps us not have to do that.

Then good deal.

Don't think this signing effects the draft in any way. He might not even make the 53 (though probably about 90% he does).

Overall a decent signing. I hope there isn't too much guaranteed money and the majority of even the $4 million is incentives.

[RingoCStarrQB]

I am Ringo.........and I approved this message.

[Pugger]

I find it rather curious that Will Fuller and Jarvis Landry are still looking for work. Julio Jones is still out there but it getting rather long in the tooth.

[TheSkeptic]

Yeah, he can play. So can that KC QB.

[APB]

I had always considered Watkins as injury prone and an availability liability. Saw this today in an article and it kinda surprised me:

Watkins has started 91 of his 99 career NFL games, but in only one season has he appeared in every game.

I guess his injury history, while not pristine, isn't as bad as I thought it was.

[APB]

Good signing! Hopefully Watkins works out better than Devin Funchess did

They gave him the same roster number.

[TheSkeptic]

Now that Watkins is signed and will be the WR#1 starter, the remaining problem is the slot. Cobb is old and has lost whatever quickness he once had and can't stay healthy. Amari Rodgers never had good quickness or speed. So, is the strategy now to draft Burks and let him start in the slot on Day 1?

Or, should Lazard gain 10 pounds and play TE and Burks start at WR#2.