Chicago Bears: Ranking top receivers in free agency, trade market

Sammy Watkins

To be honest, it’s hard to know completely how to feel about Watkins.

Obviously, his first two seasons in Buffalo were exactly what you hoped for with the dynamic wideout from Clemson. He had 125 total catches for 2,029 yards and 15 touchdowns in that span despite missing three games his second year.

And then, things started hitting the skids for him with his first team when he broke a bone in his first in 2016.

He had a screw inserted and missed the first eight games of the season, prompting Buffalo to decline his fifth-year option. At that point, they traded him to Los Angeles to move on from his injury-prone ways.

Then last year, he started off solidly with the Rams but only ended up with 39 catches for 593 yards (though he scored eight TDs).

So the question becomes: what would the Chicago Bears be getting with Watkins?

Is he the monster talent who threatened to take the league by storm his first two years? Or is he…whatever he’s been these last year seasons?

Certainly, you hope that Watkins comes into this offseason healthy (and that the Rams don’t re-sign him on a team-friendly deal) if you’re the Bears. But given his history, hoping for him to come in a transform everything is a bit much when you can’t trust him to play every game.

And yet…that talent is awfully tantalizing, isn’t it?