Kansas City Chiefs: Sammy Watkins as reciever option

Wide receiver is not a glaring need for the Kansas City Chiefs this off-season, but that doesn’t stop the rumors linking them to Sammy Watkins.

Watkins is coming off a solid year in Los Angeles hauling in 39 catches for 593 yards and eight touchdowns. While not the largest part of the Rams in 2017, he was an important piece on a team that lead the league in scoring.

Watkins was drafted into the NFL by the Buffalo Bills at pick number four overall in the 2014 NFL Draft. He had a solid rookie season before a breakout sophomore campaign in which he caught 60 balls for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns. His third season was short due to a bone he broke in his foot during the off-season.

After the 2016 season Watkins and a 2018 sixth round pick were traded by the Bills to the Rams for EJ Gaines and a 2018 second round pick. It was a rare NFL trade in which both sides got better as the Bills needed the defense and the Rams needed a weapon for their rookie QB Jared Goff.

Watkins was good for the Rams but they have been making a lot of move this off-season and they have made Watkins a cap casualty. Watkins release immediately brought rumors of possible landing spots with one of those being in KC.

Wide receiver is not a major need for the Chiefs at this time. They have a solid number one in Tyreek Hill and depth with Chris Conley and Demarcus Robinson. There are also young guys with something to prove in Jehu Chesson, Marcus Kemp and Gehrig Dieter.

But quantity doesn’t always lead to quality and of that group only Hill is proven. So it would make some sense to bring in a solid veteran who first year QB Patrick Mahomes II could confident throwing to. Watkins has solid hands and the resume that would make him an instant upgrade at the number two receiver spot giving Mahomes possibly the best four headed monster of weapons in the league.

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I dare anyone to find a better four man unit than Hill, Watkins, Travis Kelce and Kareem Hunt. The only downside to that lineup is that Hill and Watkins are basically the same style of receiver. Short, quick and thrive on the deep ball. A balanced offense would prefer to have a big possession style receiver opposite of Hill, which Conley fits that role nicely when healthy.

But while Watkins at 6’0 210 pounds doesn’t fit the possession receiver mold, there is nothing that says a team has to have that. KC is known as a city with teams who buck the trends, just see the Kansas City Royals who won a World Series being the worst home run hitting team in the league. With the arm and big play ability of Mahomes I see no reason why the Chiefs should want as many big play threats as they can get.

With Mahomes on the field this Chiefs offense should thrive to look more like the greatest show on turf Rams teams than the Alex Smith led Chiefs teams. Watkins would definitely help the Chiefs as teams would have to cover deep leaving the short middle wide open for Kelce and plenty of running room for Hunt.

Money will be the key to making this deal happen. If Watkins gets involved in a bidding war with multiple teams than the Chiefs have too many other holes to spend that on a receiver. But if they could get him for $4 to $5 million per year type of deal than they should be jumping at him. We all know the defense needs work, but if you can average 30 points a game on offense, the defense will have some time to grow.