Team-by-Team Draft Recap: Buffalo Bills

Dan Meylor

watkins

The Bills spent a majority of their 2014 draft bolstering their defense and trying to strengthen their offensive line. They did make a huge splash with their first pick, however, and gave up what many think was too much to do so in the process. Without a doubt, dynasty owners at the top of their rookie drafts are hoping that as early as this season, Sammy Watkins proves those naysayers wrong.

Sammy Watkins, WR

The Bills won only six games in 2013 and finished dead last in the AFC East, earning the ninth pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Instead of getting the ninth best player in the draft, however, they traded up five spots with the Cleveland Browns to take Watkins, whom Buffalo reportedly had rated as the top prospect in the draft. In order to do it, they surrendered their 2015 first round selection as well as a fourth rounder in next year’s draft.

[am4show  have=’p2;p3;p4;p5;p6;’  guest_error=’sub_message’  user_error=’sub_message’ ]

As I said earlier, many consider what Buffalo gave up to be too much, especially considering the potential for the Bills to earn a top ten pick again next year. Then again, when you turn on the tape of Watkins while he was at Clemson, it’s easy to see what Doug Whaley and the rest of the Buffalo front office saw in the 6’1”, 210 pound receiver.

The most impressive part about Watkins’ game is his eye-popping quickness and incredible agility. He has game changing deep speed which he uses well to take the top off of defenses and an incredible burst that gets him in and out of his breaks quickly and causes separation with even the best defensive backs that college football has to offer.

When the ball is in the air, Watkins is equally impressive. He has excellent hands and tracks the ball well (especially on deep balls), always waiting until the last possible moment to bring up his hands to make a catch. Watkins also has an impressive catch radius for a receiver his size. While he isn’t a great leaper and won’t out leap a defender for a jump ball with any regularity, he’ll routinely make inaccurate passes catchable by plucking the ball out of the air with ease.

After the ball is in his hands, Watkins is absolutely lethal running after the catch. He routinely made big plays on quick passes and bubble screens while at Clemson due to his incredible speed and his ability to side step tacklers. To go along with that game changing elusiveness, he’s incredibly difficult to bring down in the open field. Although he isn’t the biggest receiver, he’s not afraid to lower his shoulder to gain extra yardage.

Those skills transferred seamlessly to special teams at the college level. In his three seasons on campus, Watkins returned 60 kickoffs for 1,376 yards (22.9 average) and a touchdown. Add those numbers to the 240 receptions for 3,391 yards and 27 touchdown receptions (not to mention the 339 rushing yards on 52 carries and another score on the ground) and it’s easy to see why the Bills were so high on Watkins.

To get the full picture as to what makes Sammy Watkins such a dynamic receiver, all you have to do is watch what he did in his final college game against Ohio State in the 2014 Orange Bowl. In that game, against a defense that featured Denver Broncos first round pick Bradley Roby, Watkins torched the Buckeyes to the tune of 16 receptions for 227 yards and two touchdowns – putting the finishing touches on a season where he caught 101 passes for 1,464 yards and 12 scores.

As a fantasy prospect, Watkins is the best receiver we’ve had since A.J. Green and Julio Jones entered the league together in 2011. While he’s not the same type of physically imposing receiver Green and Jones are, Watkins has track star speed, excellent hands and the incredible ability to turn a one-yard bubble screen into an 80-yard touchdown.

As far as landing spots go, Buffalo isn’t a premiere destination for a wide receiver, but it could be much worse. The quarterback situation, weather and problems on the offensive line are the question marks Watkins’ naysayers point to when attempting to downplay his upside.

Although EJ Manuel was the first quarterback taken (#16 overall) in the draft a year ago, he was far from impressive as a rookie. He suffered three separate leg injuries in 2013 which caused him to miss six games but routinely held onto the ball too long and his accuracy was inconsistent when he did throw it. He has all the tools necessary to become a productive signal caller for the Bills and for dynasty owners, but 2014 will be vital towards his development.

When it comes to the ideal conditions for Watkins to play in, Buffalo isn’t exactly what dynasty owners were hoping for, either. He’ll play half (or at least seven due to their yearly trip to Canada) of his games at Ralph Wilson Stadium which is known for its winds and cold weather late in the season. Although it’s no reason to cross a receiver off your draft list, the conditions Watkins will play in at his home field are worth keeping in mind when considering his upside and how quickly he could reach his full potential.

The final thing that could slow Watkins’ development to becoming an elite NFL receiver could be the Bills’ offensive line. Although they spent three draft choices in the draft on Manuel’s protectors, it’s still a relatively big question mark for the Bills. If they struggle once again to keep their second-year passer upright and healthy, it’s going to be increasingly difficult for Watkins to flourish with Thad Lewis or Jeff Tuhl throwing him passes.

All that said, I’m not passing on Watkins at the top of any rookie draft. He clearly has the skills and potential to become an elite receiver in both the NFL and in fantasy. Although I believe there will be a learning curve for him which will likely keep him from being anything more than a WR3 for dynasty owners as a rookie, he has top five fantasy receiver upside and should without a doubt be the top selection in rookie drafts, even in non-PPR or 2QB leagues.

Offensive Line Draft Picks

As I noted above, the Bills made a commitment to improving up front during the draft. They added Cyrus Kouandjio, a tackle out of Alabama in the second round as well as Cyril Richardson, a guard from Baylor in the fifth and Seantrel Henderson in the seventh round. Henderson was an underachieving, but physically impressive tackle out of Miami.

While offensive line additions are rarely talked about for fantasy purposes, the Bills additions could be substantial for dynasty owners as early as this year. It’s likely that at least one (and possibly two) of them will start as a rookie. All three, but particularly Kouandjio and Richardson, are considered better run blockers than pass protectors and are known for playing with a mean streak – that’s good news for dynasty owners that are counting on C.J. Spiller. According to Pro Football Focus, Buffalo ranked as the eighth worst run blocking unit in the league in 2013. Adding the Bills’ picks on the offensive line to former Rams tackle Chris Williams,whom they signed this off-season in free agency certainly gives optimism to those hoping for an improved offense in Buffalo in 2014.

Follow me on Twitter: @dmeylor22

[/am4show]

dan meylor