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The Buffalo Bills invested a huge part of their future into Sammy Watkins. In 2014, the Bills gave the Cleveland Browns their first-round pick and fourth-round pick (2015) to move up five spots in the 2014 draft to grab Watkins with the fourth overall pick.
Watkins responded with a solid rookie season, gaining 982 yards with six touchdowns on 65 catches. While Watkins didn’t take the league by storm like some thought he could, the lack of production was largely due to Buffalo’s quarterback situation and not due to any struggles from Watkins.
The quarterback situation hasn’t improved for Watkins in 2015. Matt Cassel will be competing with EJ Manuel for the starting spot. Based on minicamps, Manuel is the front-runner to land the position. At this point in his career, Manuel doesn’t appear talented enough to be a starting quarterback in this league, but he’s only 25 years of age and still could develop. Rex Ryan was pleased with Manuel’s performance at minicamp and hopes that Manuel has turned the corner in his development.
For Watkins to truly break out, he needs a quarterback that can deliver him the football. Outstanding wide receivers can have big seasons with mediocre quarterbacks, but they can’t have big seasons with bad quarterbacks. For Watkins to truly become a star, he needs Manuel to reach an Andy Dalton-type level of ability. That’s not asking for much, but based on what we saw in 2014, it might be.
Watkins’ development is contingent on better play from the quarterback position. Those who have voiced concern that Rex Ryan’s “ground and pound” offensive strategy with LeSean McCoy is going to decrease Watkins’ production are off base. Rex may be stuck in his ways, but he’s not stupid. When you have a talent like Watkins, he’s going to make sure he’s utilized in the game plan. The bigger question is whether or not one of the QBs on the roster can consistently get him the football.
Entering training camp, Watkins needs to work on building chemistry with both Manuel and Cassel. It’s uncertain who will be quarterbacking the offense and it’s also uncertain if whoever emerges as the starting QB during training camp will hold onto the job throughout the entire season. The uncertainty at that position is why Watkins needs to be flexible and focus on working with both quarterbacks so he can make strides this year regardless of who is lining up under center.
If Watkins can find some chemistry with the Bills’ starting QB, he has a chance to make major strides this year and establish himself as one of the elite receivers in the entire NFL.
Bill Zimmerman is a featured writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter or like him on Facebook.
