KC Chiefs: Expect big things from Sammy Watkins if he plays in Super Bowl LV

With the promising news of Sammy Watkins’ return, the KC Chiefs offense is mostly in place for Super Bowl LV.

We all saw the playoff run last year where the Kansas City Chiefs were down by at least 10 in every single one and came back to win all of them. One player stepped up and paved a way for the Chiefs to win their first Super Bowl since 1970 and it was Sammy Watkins.

Last year Watkins demolished defenses in the playoffs going for 14 catches and 288 yards with one touchdown. The stats look great for Watkins, but that is not the whole story, as he made some of the biggest catches in team history in those postseason games.

Some key catches include the touchdown catch to seal the AFC Championship win and send KC to their first Super Bowl in 50 years and another was the game-clinching catch over Richard Sherman that led to a score in Super Bowl LIV. Last year was not the only time where Watkins showed up for the Chiefs, as the year prior he had 10 catches for 166 yards in two playoff games.

This trend will continue as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will try to focus on eliminating Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, forcing the Kansas City Chiefs to go to other players. That is where players like Sammy Watkins, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and maybe even Byron Pringle will hopefully show up.

Watkins is known as the zone buster in the Chiefs offense, although Kelce has done it a lot this year, due to his route running and his football IQ in finding soft spots in zone coverages. Along with this, Watkins can also beat man coverage whether he is pressed or not making him a tough player to cover.

Another thing that Watkins has done in his tenure with the Chiefs is showing up when it is needed the most, so those plays on third down where he just gets the first down or a key 20+ yard reception to ice a game show that he always makes a play when needed.

The only problem is he is coming off an injury and has not played since Week 16 and that could hurt his production, but it the Super Bowl, so he’ll hopefully do what he does best. If he is not 100% for the Super Bowl and only sees the field for 30% of the snaps, another player will have to step up.

That player will be, of course, Pringle who has kind of followed Watkins in the area of making plays when it is needed. Pringle has made plays whenever he gets the ball, whether it is in special teams or the offense, so if Watkins is not in as much expect Pringle to be the guy to replace his production.

If Watkins is healthy enough to play at 100%, then expect him to have a good game with some key catches, but if not, Pringle can also do that too, so do not fret if Watkins is not fully healthy. With Demarcus Robinson possibly being out for the game, expect both of these players to show up in some facet.

My prediction for Watkin’s final stat line will be that he gets six catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, all of which will be very important plays that help the Chiefs win the Super Bowl again.