Packers Hosting Free-Agent Receiver Sammy Watkins

Sammy Watkins, the fourth pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, is several years removed from being an impact player but he's only 28 and has a lot of experience.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – As first reported by NFL Network, the Green Bay Packers are hosting veteran receiver Sammy Watkins on a free-agent visit on Thursday.

With the start of the 2022 NFL Draft exactly two weeks away, the Packers have a cavernous hole at receiver following the trade of two-time All-Pro Davante Adams. Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb are the only receivers on the team with any legitimate professional experience. The potential addition of Watkins wouldn’t replace Adams but it would help ease the transition.

It’s worth noting Watkins played with the Rams in 2017, when coach Matt LaFleur was offensive coordinator. The fourth pick of the 2014 draft by the Buffalo Bills, Watkins has 348 receptions for 5,059 yards (14.5 average) and 34 touchdowns in eight seasons.

The reality is Watkins is little more than a big name at this point. Still only 28, he caught 65 passes for 982 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie and 60 passes for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns during his second season. Over the past six seasons, he’s failed to reach 55 catches or 700 yards. He’s scored a not-so-grand total of nine touchdowns the past four years.

He spent 2018 through 2020 with the Kansas City Chiefs. With Patrick Mahomes slinging the ball, he averaged 43 receptions, 538 yards and 2.7 touchdowns. He spent last year with the Baltimore Ravens alongside Lamar Jackson. He caught 27 passes but had five drops, according to Sports Info Solutions.

Unprompted on Tuesday, receivers coach and passing-game coordinator Jason Vrable twice brought up Watkins. Vrable was an assistant coach with Buffalo in 2014 and 2015.

The addition of Watkins, who is several used removed from his prime seasons, would help alleviate some of the pressure in getting a rookie receiver on the field in an outsized role from Day 1.

“I think that, for some guys, takes a little bit more time than others,” Vrable said of the challenge for rookie receivers. “And you look back at Davante, I obviously drafted Sammy in that class, and Sammy was a great player, but I think Davante was a two-star coming out who continued to develop and progress. He was maybe the sixth receiver drafted. It was a continued climb. He got his confidence there, he learned the playbook, he learned what Aaron was looking for, maybe what the staffs were looking for. So, it’s just a gradual growth and everyday finding a way to get 1 percent better.”

In the 2014 draft, Watkins was the first receiver selected and Adams the ninth. Adams ranks second in the class with 669 receptions and 73 touchdowns while Watkins is seventh with 348 receptions and 34 touchdowns.

A two-time All-Pro who dominated the last six seasons, adjusting to life without Adams is going to be a major challenge that can’t be handled by just one player.

“That’s going to be a big challenge,” new offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said on Tuesday. “I know our personnel staff and our coaching staff are really working hard at trying to find the best fits, whether it’s through the draft or free agency, and I’m really excited about it. We’ve got some really good foundational players that are still here, so I’m really excited about them kind of taking on that leadership role, filling the void that losing Davante we’re going to have in that room. But we have some good leaders with Allen and Cobb, and then whatever the new pieces are, whether it’s through the draft or free agency, I’m excited to get going on that and really working with those guys.”