Strong Offseason Hopefully Helps Packers Sammy Watkins Overcome Injuries

The big question for Sammy Watkins in his first season with the Green Bay Packers is, can he remain healthy and available?

The former fourth overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft has appeared in all 16 games within a season only on one occasion, which was during his rookie year. In two of the last four seasons, he hasn’t appeared in more than 10 games.

Although overall, Watkins’ numbers don’t leap off the page, when healthy, he has, for the most part, been an effective pass-catcher when provided with the opportunity these last few seasons.

Last season with Baltimore, Watkins was on the field for only 457 total snaps but did average almost 15 yards per catch on his 27 receptions. During the 2018 and 2020 seasons with Kansas City, Watkins caught nearly 73% of his 121 combined targets.

The 2019 season, when Kansas City won the Super Bowl, was his most productive since his second year in the NFL. Watkins would go on to record 961 receiving yards on 105 targets between the regular season and the playoffs, according to PFF ($$). In the Super Bowl specifically, Watkins caught five of his six passes for 98 yards.

With the Green Bay Packers, Watkins will provide this offense with an experienced boundary receiver, who can play in the slot as well, and someone who can stretch the field vertically–an element that needs to be replaced with Marquez Valdes-Scantling leaving in free agency.

However, before he can provide the offense with those elements, the key to being effective in Green Bay is staying healthy. Watkins knows how important that is, not only for this season but for his career moving forward; recently mentioning that right now, his “back is against the wall,” given how he has battled various injuries over the years.

"“Just do everything in my might and power to stay on the field,” Watkins told reporters in June via Packers Wire. “When I’m on the field, I can ball, I can catch the ball, I can score. I’m a dominant player. But the key is staying on the field.”"

A strong offseason hopefully helps Packers Sammy Watkins overcome injuries.

This offseason, Watkins has been working out in Florida with trainer Bert Whigham. Doug Kyed of PFF was interviewing Whigham about wide receiver Gabriel Davis, who is also training in Florida, and unprompted, Whigham began talking about Watkins.

"“That guy is going to be good for the Packers,” said Whigham. “He started working with us like seven weeks ago, and he said he wanted to be ‘college Sammy.’ Sammy is going to have a big year. He told me, ‘I want to be Clemson Sammy Watkins.’ And I was like, ‘OK, let’s do it.’ He’s just up there squatting 405 for eight right now like it’s nothing. He started around 218, and he’s at 225 right now, too. He’s going to go be a No. 1 in Green Bay.”"

There’s a reason that “college Sammy” was the fourth overall pick in 2014. He was coming off a nearly 1,500-yard season during his final year that included 14.5 yards per catch and 12 touchdowns. He also had another season with 1,219 receiving yards at 14.9 yards per catch and 12 more touchdowns.

Injuries are unfortunately a part of the game of football, and during a game, there really isn’t much that can be done to prevent one from happening. However, a player can do their best to be proactive in preventing injuries by preparing their body over the offseason.

This is something that Whigham would also mention that Watkins is doing, taking his offseason training to a level that he hasn’t since his Clemson days.

"“Sammy’s going to kill it. I have no doubt,” said Whigham. “He hasn’t trained like this since college. He’ll say that. ‘I haven’t worked like this since college.’ We’re spending two-and-a-half, three hours on the field in this heat every day. And that sounds crazy, but that’s what your body has to go through so when you get to camp, it’s easy. And that’s been the knock on him. He gets hurt. Well, he hasn’t pushed his body in the offseason, and he’ll admit that.”"

As Aaron Rodgers has said this offseason, he prefers production over potential. Watkins — along with Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb — has the production and experience, which means this Packers offense is likely going to lean on him quite heavily–especially early on this season.

For this offensive unit to be at their best, they’ll need a healthy Sammy Watkins for as many games as possible—particularly early on in the season as the rookies continue to get acclimated.