Maybe Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins shouldn’t have aired his grievances regarding the lack of passes coming his way in such a public manner. But Sammy Watkins is correct regarding his number of targets.
The former Clemson Tiger said the following, in part, when speaking with The Buffalo News this week:
“I need the ball at least 10 times — I need 10 targets — and l’ll be fine with however many yards I get,” Watkins told the newspaper. “And that’s what I addressed in talking with my agent. We reached out to a couple people and tried to pull some string like, ‘Hey, I need my targets. You came up to draft me and I’m not getting targets — that’s a problem.’
“‘You’re making me look bad, and you’re making yourself look bad. Why not make both of us look good?’
“For a guy you go up in the draft to take as your No. 1 receiver, you would love those 15 targets that Julio [Jones] gets, those 20 targets that Odell [Beckham Jr.] gets,” he told the newspaper. “Of course I’d have 100 yards every game and a TD, if I’m getting 20 targets.”
The Bills traded the number nine overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and their 2015 first-round pick to the Cleveland Browns so they could move up five spots and draft Watkins with the number four overall pick in the 2014 draft. Last season he had 65 receptions on 128 targets (8 per game) for 982 yards and six touchdowns.
This season Watkins suffered a calf injury in the first quarter of the Bills’ Week 3 victory over the Miami Dolphins and he has been sidelined since, missing the Bills’ last two games. In 2015 the second year receiver has seven catches on 12 targets for 99 yards and one touchdown, and he hasn’t been targeted more than eight times in a game.
I get the fact that Doug Marrone was the head coach when the Bills drafted quarterback EJ Manuel with the 16th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft and that Marrone then doubled down the following year by giving up so much in 2014 to get Watkins. I understand that Rex Ryan, a coach that likes his teams to control the football (mainly with a rushing attack) and play good defense, took over as the head coach in Buffalo this offseason. And yes, it’s very possible that neither Manuel nor Tyrod Taylor, who won the starting quarterback job this offseason, are actually good enough to get the ball to Watkins more frequently. But for the Bills quarterback to consistently look at Watkins as the second or third option while he goes through his progression, and for the talented wide receiver to be blocking as much as he has, is a horrible use of resources.
It would have been best if Watkins had talked with his head coach or offensive coordinator about his frustration with the lack of passes thrown his way, instead of talking with a newspaper. And maybe he did and nothing changed, but either way, the Bills need to find a way get Watkins more touches. Giving up so much to get the talented wideout and not utilizing his impressive pass catching abilities would be kind of like getting really dressed up to go out to a fancy dinner and then wearing an hold, torn up, hat.
