WR's instead of Sammy?

[Dragonborn10]

According to Matthew Fairburn in Syracuse these are the WR's he would take over Sammy. His categories (black) and my comments(red).

No Brainers:

Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers ​Definitely
Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons ​Definitely
Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions For just one year? Maybe, but not long term
Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys Possible but I stick with Watkins for now.
DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans Don't think he is better but he is just as good.
A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals ​No, he is incredible but he is a post and go route only WR. I think Sammy will be a more complete WR next year.
Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants ​Talent-wise yes, but he is on his way to being a headcase and probably a contract dispute in near future

Could pass soon:

Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos Probably a very good WR but who knows with Peyton as QB. Could pass soon is probably appropriate as in next season​
Brandon Marshall, New York Jets Another possible headcase. Can be dominant​ but for how long in any one place?
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals ​Fitzgerald is the WR Sammy most reminds me of. Obviously due to age I take Watkins and even for next year I would still choose Watkins
Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers ​Again how do you separate the WR from the QB? Coming off injury this is a no-brainer for Watkins

Too close to call:

Allen Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars ​Stats look great. Don't know much about him.

Passed: T​hese guys don't belong in the same article as Watkins with the exception of Maclin for a brief moment. Benjamin's story is yet to fully unfold.
Eric Decker, New York Jets
Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Kelvin Benjamin, Carolina Panthers
Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers
Jeremy Maclin, Kansas City Chiefs
T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts

 

Love to see others thoughts.

[Pete]

Sammy belongs in the first group. I would most definitely take Sammy over Dez. Antonio and Julio are the two best, then Sammy, Odell, AJ, and DeAndre IMO

[Coastie]

Only one I might dispute with you is Mike Evans, I think he will be very good and if he had the QBs some of the others do then could be a top five receiver for years. But overall I agree with your take.

[eball]

To me the kicker is Sammy's age -- he's only freaking 22 years old! Combine the production he showed over the last 9 games of the season with his youth and he immediately vaults to top 5 status.

[mead107]

# 1 Sammy in my book

[YoloinOhio]

Antonio and Julio, that's it.

 

Evans is way too immature on and off the field, not a leader. Same with Dez, obj, and Hopkins

 

The rest just flat aren't as good or on their way to AARP. Green seems to have his worst games on the biggest stage.

Edited January 8, 2016 by YoloinOhio

[GunnerBill]

Sammy belongs in the first group. I would most definitely take Sammy over Dez. Antonio and Julio are the two best, then Sammy, Odell, AJ, and DeAndre IMO

Agree with that although I think Dez is in that second group probably just hanging on to its tail. I also agree with Coastie below - I think Mike Evans has the potential to find his way into that second group. I almost feel like he needs to stay healthy and for the Buccs to move on from Vincent Jackson and make him the number 1 to make that step.

[strive_for_five_guy]

So we're saying the trade for Sammy was worth it?

[eball]

So we're saying the trade for Sammy was worth it?

 

Yep -- all 43 picks we gave up.

[Manther]

I am excited to watch the Sammy ride!!

[Solomon Grundy]

Sammy belongs in the first group. I would most definitely take Sammy over Dez. Antonio and Julio are the two best, then Sammy, Odell, AJ, and DeAndre IMO

If Sammy had their QBs, he'd be comparable to all except Dez Bryant. Dez not only have the talent, but his love for the game is second to none

[KingRex]

So we're saying the trade for Sammy was worth it?

I would say the answer to this is that the certain answer to this is NOT YET.

 

In order for it to be worth giving up a future 1st for Sammy the results would have to be something like:

 

1. Sammy plays a pivotal role in getting this team into an SB win, at least an appearance or maybe simply a final four.

 

If Sammy were to play a pivotal role in achieving one of the above goals then trading a 1st for him was worth it.

 

2. Sammy does not play a pivotal role in delivering the goals above but proves to be a perennial Pro Bowl worthy candidate.

 

In this case the Bills squad does not luck out into winning key games or King Rex proves not capable of coaching this team to some achievement, but Watkins achieves personal accomplishments to make him a feared WR during his career. In order to be worth the price of a traded 1st while Sammy would not need to turnout to achieve like a poor team's Jerry Rice, but would need to produce much better in his career than lets say an Eric Moulds.

 

Actually, while the answer for Watkins is not yet in the view of this over-observer of the NFL, his results are actually so far so good as Sammy has shown real world achievements in his first two years that far exceed what perennial Pro Bowl talent Moulds achieved in his first two years.

 

In addition, while in the real world Moulds did clearly become the best offensive athlete on the team and real world threat. Watkins has already attained this status while Moulds showed every sign of being a failed pick after 2 years.

 

Sammy not only has achieved despite injury but really is saying a lot of the right things to establish himself as a leader (after his inauspicious rhetorical start) while Moulds turned out to be a failure as a team leader.

 

3. He needs to better than the other credible choices that the Bills could have had at WR without trading up for Sammy.

 

Actually I think that only Beckham was a credible first round alternative to Sammy in his class and actually he achieved in his highlight reel 1st year results that made the alternative of picking him in the Bills given spot a better alternative than trading up for Sammy.

 

However, Beckham has turned out to be an idiot rather than a leader his second year. I think a better argument can be made to actually risk Sammy being taken by someone else if we did not trade up than to try to argue Beckham was a better choice.

 

The real answer to this question is NOT YET for Sammy but so far he is promising. With a not unseen amount of dumb luck, Sammy could easily prove to be a pivotal part of a winner OR avoid injury to his young body to rack up personal acievements which though doubtful are doable.

[chris heff]

Yep -- all 43 picks we gave up.

It was 43 first round picks! Come on get it right!

[midland]

If Watkins had a better offensive coordinator and coach, plus proven qb (TT has been a surprise, but had EJ Manuel under center for 3 games) his numbers would put him in the first group.

[H2o]

What a waste, we should've stayed put and drafted OBJ.

[KingRex]

What a waste, we should've stayed put and drafted OBJ.

Who it turns out may be a headcase until (or if) he gets older.

 

It would not surprise me if he ends up following the Marshawn Lynch model. Talented athlete but a bit of a legend in his own mind, who actually profits from leaving the team which originally drafted him because his problems finally make him mature.