Bucs Wanted Sammy Watkins?
May 20th, 2014
Buffalo WR Sammy Watkins claims the Bucs were one of two teams that told him they would trade up to select him in the draft two weeks ago.
Hordes of Bucs fans are still cracking open bottles of beer to celebrate the drafting of Mike Evans at No. 7 overall. While there was little if anything to judge Evans during rookie camp, his making the two plays of the day, spectacular plays, each time the Tampa Bay pen and mic club was allowed to watch, certainly didn’t damper any hopes.
But, if Joe is to believe the words from wide receiver Sammy Watkins own mouth, the No. 4 overall draft pick, the Bucs wanted him more than Evans.
Per Watkins, the Bucs were one of two teams that told him they would trade up to get him. The other was Detroit. Instead of the Bucs or the Lions, it was actually the Bills who found a trade partner in the Browns to grab Watkins.
Speaking with Erik Kuselias of Pro Football Talk, which Joe is sure all of his readers enjoy weeknights on the NBC Sports Network, Watkins explains via this NBC Sports video below.
Now unless the Bucs confess, that yes, they told Watkins they would trade up to get him (there is reason to not believe Watkins) or unless some team leaks out the Bucs were trying to take up with them, which will be highly unlikely, what rivalry there was between Watkins and Bucs No. 7 overall pick Mike Evans will be around for years.
Sort of like, who is the best defensive tackle, Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy. We all know the answer to that question is GMC.
May 20th, 2014 at 9:05 am
Yes, GMC and Evans is my vote
May 20th, 2014 at 9:16 am
I heard from “sources” that the bucs wanted Watkins, Until Glennon told them to get Evans!
May 20th, 2014 at 9:17 am
Everything part of the strategy.They made bills to trade up so mission accomplished.We got who we wanted.
May 20th, 2014 at 9:21 am
I’ll take a tall one to go with the rest of the Dunkaneers….thank you very much!!
May 20th, 2014 at 9:24 am
I think we wanted watkins and he will be better and would be great imo in the buc system…. But not for the price
May 20th, 2014 at 9:30 am
For what the Bills paid for him I’m guessing anything short of Jerry Rice will get the coach and GM fired. He wasn’t worth that price.
Jason Licht and Co had to know they’d be taking a step up on the way to the gallows by making that deal. So I doubt it.
May 20th, 2014 at 9:35 am
Evans will be a better fit for the Bucs long term since he’ll be able to replace VJax in one to two years. Maybe not as dynamic in free space as Watkins but we needed a sure handed wide body to draw the double teams.
May 20th, 2014 at 9:36 am
I’m weary of explosive players in the climate and conditions that exists in Buffalo.
It’s not that Watkins won’t succeed but he will likely have to fight off the elements to be effective to say the least.
I will say this about Evans – you can take this giant into any stadium and climate and handle business because while he has speed – his game is not predicated on speed alone. He has size and other attributes that Watkins doesn’t.
May 20th, 2014 at 9:39 am
BTW, Evans was our guy all along. Sammy and his agent were played. Lovie wants a very physical roster. No other WR in the draft brings what Evans has in size, strength and the ability to block.
May 20th, 2014 at 9:40 am
Agreed.. The Bucs very well may have wanted to draft him but not giving up 2015 #1. Not worth the price. Or the Bucs told him that hoping his agent would leak it so other teams would buy it. I still wished TB would have traded down picked a couple extra picks. Hopefully, M. Evans will be a step above the other WRs in this draft and prove it this year.
May 20th, 2014 at 9:45 am
Ryan O, i was hoping to stock picks too but the Bucs were true to their board. I admire their discipline.
May 20th, 2014 at 9:46 am
Then they realized this franchise has had enough Clemson busts.
Sammy is just mad he has to go to Buffalo.
May 20th, 2014 at 9:46 am
Glad we didn’t mortgage the future to trade up like Buffalo did. We have done enough of that in the past. Even though it did bring us our Super Bowl, the price we paid for Keyshawn and Gruden has haunted us and is still haunting us today. (Still proud and ecstatic about the SB!) Evans will be offensive rookie of the year!
May 20th, 2014 at 9:52 am
mike n Says:
May 20th, 2014 at 9:24 am
I think we wanted watkins and he will be better and would be great imo in the buc system…. But not for the price.”
I suspect Watkins will be a bust and get in trouble with the law. A lot.
May 20th, 2014 at 9:56 am
Poor Pablo, lol
May 20th, 2014 at 9:57 am
Who would you rather have, Calvin Johnson or DeSean Jackson? I’ll take Megatron all day and twice on Sunday. The comparison on Watkins vs Evans is the same. Go Bucs!!
May 20th, 2014 at 10:01 am
Probably were just exploring options, like good GM’s do.
I think both of those guys are going to be really good.
May 20th, 2014 at 10:01 am
We all know there is a big learning curve to become an NFL WR. Watkins is a great athlete, but a LOT of his catches were behind the LOS. Evans, on the other hand, averaged around 18 yards downfield where he initially caught the ball – therefor he is already a better downfield receiver than Watkins. Add that into the learning curve and Evans should come out on top, IMO.
Plus, Watkins is from Clemson – have we not had enough busts from Clemson?
May 20th, 2014 at 10:03 am
Memo to Watkins: Don’t believe anything anyone says leading up to the draft.
May 20th, 2014 at 10:03 am
I was big on Watkins early, then waned. Sims can cover that role good enough to satisfy the team’s plans.
May 20th, 2014 at 10:06 am
Smoke Screen! Twin towers was the vision at One Bucs Palace.
May 20th, 2014 at 10:11 am
Now having seen the world famous “circus” catch by Mike Evans in practice for myself, not just relying on the media, I’m wondering how many more we’ll see over the middle after he gets leveled by an NFL safety, whether the hit is a legal one or an illegal one. Honestly, great wingspan, yes, but from what I’ve seen it’s way, way overblown.
May 20th, 2014 at 10:20 am
Watkins would have been cool but I’m glad we got Evans and excited that he’s a Buc.
May 20th, 2014 at 10:21 am
@Biff barker
I’m pretty sure Watkins was deemed one of the most physical WR’s in this class
May 20th, 2014 at 10:28 am
Evans has bigger hands and longer arms, all the better to catch passes from Winnin’ Mike Glennon’s cannon without breaking a finger or two.
May 20th, 2014 at 10:32 am
@runtoday, yes it was practice but the safety better be a big boy too….besides, why are you here if you’re rooting against Evans?….just curious of your trolling…..
May 20th, 2014 at 10:32 am
Manziel Mad,
Watkins is a freak yes, but Evans was our guy all along. All the guy did was make plays. Ask any Crimson Tide fan.
May 20th, 2014 at 10:34 am
Obviously there are routes and throws that favor a big guy defended by a short quick guy. Defenses can adjust all they want but we will always be able to find that mismatch.
May 20th, 2014 at 10:40 am
I would rather have Evans at pick seven
than Watkins minus whatever pick/player it would have cost to trade up to get him.
If both were available at 7,
Then THAT would have been the real comparison/competition.
They weren’t both available at 7
so there is no comparison / debate.
So I am Happy with Evans as the BPA and as part of the new Dunkaneers.
May 20th, 2014 at 10:52 am
@Buc Neckid…I completely agree. If we had traded up for Watkins, chances are we would not have gotten Jenkins at TE. Evans is going to be a scoring machine in the NFL! No doubt that Watkins will be a great vertical threat, but I don’t think he scores as many TD’s as Evans! Glad we got the guy we did…he’s a perfect addition to our offense!
May 20th, 2014 at 10:53 am
@MadMax
Why am I here? Trolling? Where did I say I was rooting against Mike Evans?
I’m admittedly not included in the “hordes of Buc fans” that scream like a little girl when a rookie WR makes a nice grab against no defenders. When he proves he can snatch the ball away from a DB on 3rd and long, I’ll be his biggest fan.
May 20th, 2014 at 10:56 am
Watkins was nearly every team’s #1 WR, including ours most likely. Yes, we came out and said we wanted Evans all along (they left out the part about only if Watkins isn’t there). It is common accepted practice for a team to say, no matter where they were drafting, that they got the player they most wanted… which is true… they got the player they most wanted, of the ones that hadn’t already been picked.
May 20th, 2014 at 11:09 am
If Evans could make a guy like the QB selected in the damning spot of 22nd pick by the Cleveland Browns look at one point like a top 5 pick then imagine what he will do with real NFL QB’s like Glennon and McCown throwing to him. Be excited Bucs fans, Evans will be a good pick without reaching in the draft
May 20th, 2014 at 11:23 am
runtodaylight…he was drafted for a reason. What he did in practice was just a mere glimpse of why he was drafted so high.
You don’t watch much college football do you?
May 20th, 2014 at 11:26 am
OJ Simpson was pretty explosive in Buffalo.
Thurman Thomas.
Andre Reed.
Sammy is going to be awfully good, but trading a lot for a wide receiver is dubious. Or, Buffalo may have hit a home run.
Who knows.
May 20th, 2014 at 11:37 am
I’m a big FSU fan and Manuel is not NFL QB material. Buffalo would have served themselves much better had they selected a QB, than Watkins.
Because they have Manuel throwing the ball, I can predict with full confidence that Evans will have a better rookie year than Watkins.
May 20th, 2014 at 11:38 am
Both players are outstanding. However, I do prefer the Evans pick. I believe the Bucs’ may have favored Evans for some of the same reasons.
The size and new buzz term “catch radius” greatly favor Evans. Yet even with a great size and reach advantage the speed advantage of Watkins is marginal at only .08 faster 40 time.
The biggest thing for me was how did these guys perform this past year. Watkins had more rec. yards, but he only had 142 more yards than Evans while getting 36 more catches than Evans. So needless to say Evans had a much better YPC number (yards per catch). I think the biggest thing for me was how did they perform against the best teams they played all year? For Evans I believe those games were Bama and Auburn. Against Bama he torched their secondary for 279 yds and a TD on 7 cathces (39.9 YPC!!!) and against Auburn he ranup 287 yds and 4 TDs on 11 catches (26.1 YPC).
Watkins two best opponents I would say were FSU and Ohio St. Against FSU Watkins posted 68 yds and 1 TD on 8 cathches (8.5 YPC). Against Ohio St he put up great numbers; 227 yds and 2 TDs on 16 catches (14.2 YPC). His game against Ohio St, which was his “statement game” wasn’t as good as either of Evans’ games posted above. The one plus I give to Sammy is that his TD production didn’t die off at the end of the year like Evans’ did.
They’re both incredible WRs. But I prefer Mike slightly.
May 20th, 2014 at 12:21 pm
Glad we got Evans, in my opinion I feel like the speedy receivers are prone to injury. For example Percy Harvin.
May 20th, 2014 at 3:13 pm
“Snook Says:
Sammy is just mad he has to go to Buffalo.”
The Bills were Sammy’s favorite team growing up so I’m sure he is (and certainly seems to be so far) ecstatic about it.
“BuccaneerBonzai Says:
I suspect Watkins will be a bust and get in trouble with the law. A lot.”
What on earth would give you that impression? Watkins is one of the highest character guys in this years draft.
“Johny Red Says:
Who wouldou rather have, Calvin Johnson or DeSean Jackson? The comparison on Watkins vs Evans is the same.”
Um.. so if you think there’s even a slight chance that Evans is going to be as good as Megatron you’re delusional. That comparison is not at all the same.
“Buc1987 Says:
Because they have Manuel throwing the ball, I can predict with full confidence that Evans will have a better rookie year than Watkins.”
I’ll admit EJ has some work to do, but he’s 10x the QB that Boyd is, and Watkins caught all his passes. He pretty much got him drafted single-handedly.
The Bills traded away a first rounder next year, yes.. but if you consider all the underclassmen to come out this year (90) 2015 draft class will be one of the weakest in a long time. This years 2nd rounders will be better than a lot of next years firsts.
I think some of you Bucs fans are still a little bitter that the Bills took M.Williams off your hands for next to nothing.