The KC Chiefs made a splash in free agency first thing Tuesday morning by signing Sammy Watkins to a three-year deal worth $48 million.
The Kansas City Chiefs have a new wide receiver coming to town and his name is Sammy Watkins. Watkins was arguably the best receiver on the free agent market this offseason and the Chiefs were able to snatch him away from other suitors.
With Watkins on board, the Chiefs also have Tyreek Hill, Demarcus Robinson, Travis Kelce, and Kareem Hunt to go along with their new toy on offense. That’s a pretty deadly group right there.
It was key to bring in another experienced receiver with Patrick Mahomes playing in his first full season of NFL action. While Mahomes and Albert Wilson gelled in Mahomes’ lone game of his pro career, Wilson was not worth this kind of money (he never had more than 600 receiving yards in his career) so it looks like the Chiefs are okay with him signing elsewhere this offseason.
Final terms of the #Chiefs expected deal for WR Sammy Watkins: 3 years, $48M with $30M fully guaranteed at signing, sources say.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2018
Back to Sammy Watkins, the Bills traded up to the fourth overall pick to get him back in the 2014 NFL Draft. He was traded to the Rams before the 2017 season began and obviously didn’t end up staying there.
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Watkins’ best season came in 2015 when he started 13 games and hauled in 60 catches for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns. That’s the only time he’s gone for over 1,000 yards in his career, but Watkins is only 24 years old (he’ll be 25 in June) so there’s plenty of time to add more 1,000 yard seasons.
During Watkins’ time as a Bill, the quarterback situation there was iffy at best plus he struggled to stay healthy. The injuries are why Watkins didn’t work out in Buffalo and I hope that doesn’t follow him to Kansas City.
Last year he missed just one game yet only had 593 receiving yards. He did find the end zone eight times though and was not Los Angeles’ top weapon.
One would have to think Watkins could be the number one option for the Chiefs this year, but Tyreek Hill proved to be worthy of getting to keep that spot. Mahomes should be able to get the football to both guys and that’s exciting to think about, isn’t it?
Something else this shows is that the KC Chiefs don’t think Chris Conley is a part of their future plans. Conley has sorely disappointed during his three years in the league so far and this is his last season to step up and prove himself in Kansas City.
Congrats Chiefs Kingdom! You got the best wide receiver on the market. How does it feel?