Reaching the end of the second week of free agency, the Ravens have finally landed a veteran wide receiver.
After unsuccessful attempts to sign JuJu Smith-Schuster and T.Y. Hilton over the last week, Baltimore has agreed to a one-year contract with Sammy Watkins, who visited with the Ravens brass on Tuesday. The deal is worth $5 million guaranteed and an additional $1 million that can be earned through incentives, according to The Athletic. Though not among the top names on the original free-agent wish list of those clamoring for a No. 1 receiver to help quarterback Lamar Jackson and a passing game that struggled in 2020, Watkins has the skill set to serve as a quality intermediate target playing on the outside or from the slot and immediately becomes Baltimore’s most experienced wide receiver.
The 27-year-old spent the last three seasons in Kansas City and played a pivotal role in the Chiefs’ run to their Super Bowl LIV championship, but injuries have too often hampered a promising career as Watkins has played more than 10 games in a season just twice over the last five years. The 6-foot-1, 211-pound wideout was the fourth overall pick of the 2014 draft and spent his first three years with Buffalo and the 2017 season with the Los Angeles Rams before signing a three-year, $48 million contract with the Chiefs. That lucrative deal netted an underwhelming return as Watkins recorded no more than 673 receiving yards and three touchdowns in any of those three seasons despite playing in Kansas City’s explosive passing game.
The former Clemson star did come up big in the 2019 postseason with 14 receptions for 288 yards and a touchdown over three games, which included five catches for 98 yards in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory over San Francisco. However, Watkins’ 2020 season was a disappointment as he missed multiple weeks with hamstring and calf injuries, finishing with just 37 catches for a career-low 421 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games. Pro Football Focus graded Watkins 87th out of 127 qualified wide receivers in 2020, which was the lowest grade and ranking of his seven-year career. His yards per catch average has also declined every year since 2015.
Watkins does have some connections with the Baltimore coaching staff as offensive coordinator Greg Roman served in the same capacity for the Bills in 2015 when the speedy receiver posted the only 1,000-yard season of his career. New pass game specialist Keith Williams also served as a personal receiver coach for Watkins in the past. However, the veteran’s lengthy injury history and modest numbers playing in Kansas City’s high-volume passing attack make one wonder how much of an impact he’ll provide for a Baltimore passing game that finished 18th in yards per attempt, 17th in Football Outsiders’ passing efficiency metric, and 32nd in passing yards per game last season.
The addition of Watkins on a one-year contract wouldn’t figure to change the organization’s plans nor eliminate fans’ angst over the position going into next month’s draft as it’s becoming more and more apparent that the Ravens’ best bet for adding high-caliber talent at wide receiver is drafting and developing their own. General manager Eric DeCosta has selected four wide receivers — Marquise Brown, Miles Boykin, Devin Duvernay, and James Proche — over the last two drafts, and this year’s rookie class of wide receivers is again highly regarded. Baltimore is set to pick 27th in the first round of the 2021 draft and currently owns seven choices overall.
