Buffalo Bills: Sammy Watkins 2017 fantasy football outlook
By Connor Price
Sammy Watkins is entering a boom or bust year in 2017. A former tier-one wide receiver that has been befuddled by injuries and a run-heavy offense, Watkins attempts to get that contract he has been working for.
The number one wide receiver for the Bills will be Sammy Watkins this season, and Buffalo Bills fans are excited to see what he has in store for another season.
Last year, Watkins scored 55 points while just playing in 8 games. The result of this is him being far down the list of top scoring receivers. Something that is worth looking at is his fantasy points per game stat.
If you sort the receivers by fantasy points per gam,e then Watkins(6.88) is propelled up the player rankings. Ranking just below DeAndre Hopkins(7.46) and Alshon Jeffrey(7.24).
Sammy Watkins underwent foot surgery on January 20th, and the team says he will be ready for training camp. Foot injuries can be devastating to players the rely on explosion to elevate their game.
After eclipsing the 1,000 yard mark for the first time in his career in 2015, he was bitten by the injury bug. This lowered his numbers considerably, as everyone knows. In 8 games he acquired 430 yards through the air and two touchdowns. Watkins participates in all 16 games in 2014, 12 in 2015 and 8 2016. If the pattern continues then, we will watch him in 4 games, but hopefully, that will not be the case.
Sammy Watkins is an elite player that has an above average quarterback throwing to him. Any time you pair an explosive player with a quarterback with a rocket arm, then it is a deadly combination.
Rotoworld.com seems to have a positive outlook on his situation more than his talent.
"Not only does he possess elite talent, but his situation is rosy as well. Tyrod Taylor has one of the prettiest deep balls in the league, and he’s back in town for another year. Taylor and Watkins have shown great chemistry when both are healthy and together, for example at the end of the 2015 season. Further, Buffalo was the most run-heavy team in the league last year. The departure of Lynn and a normal regression to the mean tells me that passing volume will go up, and Watkins is in line to approach 10 targets per game because he’s an alpha bell-cow WR mold on a team with no other notable WRs."
Another Sammy Watkins injury would send an earthquake through this Bills team that would affect every single player. Zay Jones would elevate to the number one spot. The offense would lean on LeSean McCoy for an even bigger role. And the defense would most likely be on the field for larger portions of each game.
Now that my 300 word Sammy Watkins injury disclaimer is out of the way let’s forget about that.
In 16 games, Sammy Watkins could easily eclipse the 1100 yard mark, which would be the highest of his career. Zay Jones could take away a few of Watkin’s red zone touches. I would put his touchdown over/under at 6. This would also mean the third-year wide out would go beyond the 170 fantasy point mark.
2017 Sammy Watkins fantasy projections:
- 1100 receiving yards
- 6 receiving touchdowns
It is much easier to predict a receiver with talent like Watkins to excel than to decline.
In a standard ESPN league, Watkins is a WR2 with WR1 upside.
Everyone has their predictions for how Watkins will fair this year. To be safe, I would take him as a mid-round wide receiver. Draft him before the likes of talent such as Stefon Diggs and Pierre Garcon, but not before Jarvis Landry and Brandin Cooks.
The Bills roster is full of breakout fantasy candidates including Watkins, Tyrod Taylor, Zay Jones, and Jonathan Williams. I would not be surprised to see Sammy Watkins sign a high dollar contract following the 2017-18 season.
Do you agree with my Sammy Watkisn fantasy football predictions? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!