Buffalo Bills most needed comeback players in 2017
By Daniel Hahn
In the picture above, you see Sammy Watkins lining up, on the field during a game.
That in it of itself may be enough for Sammy Watkins to be the comeback player of the year.
A former top 5 NFL draft pick, Watkins’ talent got him drafted ahead of Odell Beckham Jr, Mike Evans and Kelvin Benjamin. His presence on the field alone changes the way defenses play. If his stats aren’t as eye popping as others, it doesn’t matter to Buffalo, who can use Watkins as a decoy just as effectively as they can as a playmaker.
In 2014, Watkins played in all 16 games. During 2015, he played in 13 games, while actually gaining more receiving yards than he did the year before. Most recently in 2016, he played in 8 games.
I don’t believe that Watkins is ‘injury prone’, but the facts are his availability is going in the wrong direction. He has a surgically repaired foot, that isn’t fully repaired and he has to manage pain for the rest of his career.
For the 2nd straight offseason, Watkins is having foot surgery rather than just prepping for football. While he has been cleared this month to return to full practices, the issue is still that his foot may not be fully healed.
Make no mistake about it, Sammy Watkins has the talent to be a #1 WR in the NFL. This offense fits him better than the offense of the previous regime. This style of offense has seen success with Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Rod Smith, Andre Johnson, and Julio Jones. Sammy Watkins has more talent than most of those WRs.
His foot has to keep him on the field, and he will change this offense. An offense that was already 8th in the NFL in scoring getting better, may be scary for the league.
The issue with this list is that a team that was 8th in the league in scoring wasn’t the reason the Buffalo Bills missed the playoffs. They scored enough, they should have been in the playoffs. Watkins return as the Bills comeback player would make the offense more explosive, and solidify Tyrod Taylor as a franchise quarterback.
Yet there is somebody else who can still make a bigger impact if all goes right.