Baltimore Ravens: Why the Ravens Should Pursue Sammy Watkins

The Baltimore Ravens’ biggest need this offseason is offensive help, especially at the wide receiver position, and Sammy Watkins would be a great addition.

The Baltimore Ravens‘ biggest need this offseason is offensive help, especially at the wide receiver position. Currently, the only receivers under contract for 2018 are Jeremy Maclin, Breshad Perriman, Chris Moore, and Tim White. Both Mike Wallace and Michael Campanaro are going to be free agents.

Maclin never really developed the chemistry with Joe Flacco that a lot of Baltimore Ravens fans (including myself) thought he would, plus he had injury problems, and Moore was serviceable if unspectacular. We’ve talked at-length about Perriman’s problems, he’s looking like a bust at this point, and we don’t know a whole lot about White.

Needless to say, the state of the Baltimore Ravens’ wide receiving corps isn’t great, especially with the loss of Wallace and Campanaro. There are a fair number of free agent wide receivers the Ravens could pursue, and they could potentially draft some as well, but one in particular they should take a long look at is former Los Angeles Rams receiver Sammy Watkins.

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Watkins has had hype around him since he was drafted with the fourth-overall pick out of Clemson by the Buffalo Bills in the 2014 NFL Draft. But injury problems have caused all kinds of issues for him since then, though he has shown flashes of brilliance.

But after being traded to the Rams, Watkins got back into a groove, finishing the year with 39 catches for 593 yards and eight touchdowns. Those aren’t eye-popping numbers, but Watkins just looked good when he was out there.

One of the main reasons for Watkins not having an amazing year was because he was drawing a lot of coverage, and Rams quarterback Jared Goff liked to spread the ball around.

Robert Woods ended the year with 56 catches for 781 yards and five touchdowns and Cooper Kupp ended the year with 62 catches for 869 yards and five touchdowns. Needless to say, the Rams had a lot of options and Goff used all of them, something Watkins was reportedly frustrated with last year.

Watkins has the ability to beat coverage and make some great catches, like this one against the San Francisco 49ers in double coverage:

He’s also a strong, physical receiver, at 6’1″, 211 pounds, and he can fight for extra yards, like on this play from the same game:

With Watkins’ great catching ability and speed, he’d be an excellent target for Flacco, especially in the red zone.

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Watkins is still just 24 years old and could be an excellent addition for the Baltimore Ravens. An offense with him and Maclin on each side would be one with a fair bit of potential, especially if Maclin and Flacco start finally developing some chemistry and Maclin stays healthy.