As the Buffalo Bills begin their organized team activities, they’re missing their top wide receiver in Sammy Watkins due to injury. The Bills should not rush him back for any reason as he rehabs heading into the regular season.
Last year, the Buffalo Bills enjoyed a solid season on the offensive side of the football. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman made the Bills’ offense a run-oriented one led by dual threat quarterback Tyrod Taylor who had an incredible season showing he’s more than capable of being their next franchise quarterback.
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Last season, Taylor totaled 3,035 passing yards, 242 completions, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also totaled 568 rushing yards on 104 attempts. Taylor’s ability to keep those chains moving through the air or ground brings much hope that he can put up an even better system in 2016.
When wide receiver Sammy Watkins was selected as the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, fans and analysts knew he would be a difference maker on a team that had desperately needed some big play-makers.
Heading into his third year in the NFL, Watkins is coming off his best year yet. In 2015, Watkins totaled 1,047 receiving yards, 60 receptions and nine touchdowns. Make no mistake about it, Watkins is incredibly important for the Bills as they do their best to finally make an appearance in the NFL Playoffs.
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It’s hard to believe Watkins accomplished those stats dealing with nagging issues with his knee, hip and a broken bone in his foot.
He had successful foot surgery in April, adding a screw inserted to speed the process and hopefully not have him miss a beat heading into 2016.
With what should be a premier rushing attack this upcoming season led by running back LeSean McCoy, the Bills have all the pieces ready to make some serious noise but it won’t be as they envision if Watkins isn’t able to step right in and take care of business.
While the Bills might once again launch another season of a run-first kind of offense, they need to open things up more and follow suit with what all the other teams are doing when it comes to their passing game.
Since the NFL is pretty much a passer league these days, the best of the best always have that combination of a great quarterback and a clutch wide receiver. The Bills must ensure that they don’t rush Watkins back since he’ll be missing quite a chunk of time with his team this offseason.
The kind of surgery Watkins had requires to not re-aggravate his foot since most of the time, another surgery is needed that could prove to require even more time away from the game.
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If for some unfortunate reason Watkins has any kind of setback and isn’t ready by Week 1 of the regular season, the Bills will find themselves already at a disadvantage. Entering the third year of any player usually shows what their true potential is and the Bills should make sure to not rush his recovery from injury for any reason as he’ll be one of the main catalysts on offense if he’s healthy all season long.