What in the absolute hell happened in Jacksonville yesterday afternoon? As expected, Pat Mahomes set off the initial firework of NFL Red Zone — a 68 yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hi Sammy Watkins?! The former fourth overall pick and oft-injured wideout went on to find the end zone two more times and finished with a crazy 198 yards on nine catches. With Hill now out for a while, Watkins will be right behind Travis Kelce on the all-important Chiefs’ Target Totem Pole. Either way, Watkins has shot up our Rest of Season Big Board and if you took the chance on the talented, yet unreliable receiver, you’ve got yourself a steal.
It seems as though Watkins has worked on restoring his confidence and is ready to breakout in the league’s most explosive offense.
“Just playing fast,” Watkins said. “It was like the third play, but Pat made eye-contact with me and I knew it was coming. After I caught the ball, I’m like, ‘Yeah, this is what I do. I’m gonna finish this play.’ That’s something I worked on: my focus in the offseason. The same things I was doing in high school and college, I think I got that mojo back. That confidence to go out there and make plays and make moves.”
Watkins also shed some light on how the Chiefs will play without their star receiver.
“I think we got the same roles,” he said. “The same particular roles. Same for me. I think we got the other guys to step up. We got Mecole Hardman in the second round. We got Demarcus Robinson. We got so many guys that can step up and play that position. I’m not really worried. Do we need 10? Do we need Tyreek? Yes, we do. I don’t think I would’ve scored a couple touchdowns without him affecting the defense.”
If (big IF) Sammy Watkins can stay healthy and become the dominant receiver we’ve always expected him to be, then he has the ability to be a season-winner in fantasy.
