WR Sammy Watkins - Kansas City Chiefs
| 6-1, 211 | Born: 6-14-1993 | College: Clemson | Drafted: Round 1, pick 2014 |
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Watkins left the Week 5 game with a hamstring injury
He is listed as doubtful on this week's official injury report.
News you need to know
From the upgrade/downgrade report (Mon Oct 7): It feels like Week 1 was just an illusion. Watkins fall from fantasy grace continued in Week 5 as he came in a game time decision as a late week injury report add, and promptly left the game with a hamstring injury. It will be tough to trust him in his first week back from the injury, whenever that is.
General News (Fri Oct 11): did not practice on Friday and is not expected to play this week.
General News (Thu Oct 10): did not practice on Thursday.
General News (Wed Oct 9): did not practice on Wednesday.
Week 6: vs Houston Texans
FBG says: Good matchup. The Chiefs suffered their first loss last week as this passing offense was noticeably slowed by a combination of strong defense from the Colts, the early loss of Sammy Watkins to a shoulder injury, and a tweaked ankle by Patrick Mahomes that had him hobbled for most of the game. While Mahomes is expected to play in Week 6, Watkins remains questionable as of early in the week--so keep an eye on his practice status. Even with all those factors going against them. Mahomes still racked up over 300 passing yards and a touchdown while remaining clean in the interception column. The absence of Watkins gave way to snaps for Byron Pringle, who led the wide receiving group in targets (9), receptions (6), and yards (103) while scoring the only touchdown for the Chiefs. Last week was further proof of how Patrick Mahomes can elevate almost any player to fantasy relevance. Expect Pringle's snap count to drop back down if Watkins suits up this week. Travis Kelce actually led the team in targets last week, but he only managed to haul in four receptions for 70 yards--his worst showing of the season despite a season-high in targets. Kelce has found the end zone just once this season, but he remains a constant threat to explode in this high-profile passing offense. Finally, do keep an eye on the status of Tyreek Hill as well--he has been practicing and is close to a return, which would immediately lower the outlook of guys like Demarcus Robinson and Mecole Hardman while elevating Hill back to WR1 status. The Texans passing defense has been an inconsistent group to start the season. Since Week 1, they have alternated weeks of either allowing over 300 passing yards and two touchdowns (against the Saints, Chargers, and Falcons) or shutting down opposing passing offenses for fewer than 240 yards and one or fewer touchdowns (Jaguars and Panthers). Based on the trend, it appears this defense is unable to keep up with higher volume passing offenses as one commonality between those three poor showings included at least 43 pass attempts by each quarterback. Patrick Mahomes is exactly what this group will not want to see. This Texans secondary has a few talented pieces. Rookie Lonnie Johnson Jr. presents a particularly soft matchup for Chiefs outside wide receivers. On the other hand, the veteran Johnathan Joseph has proven to be capable of stiff coverage as he played a big part in shutting down Julio Jones last week and D.J. Moore the week prior. Travis Kelce should also have a slightly positive matchup. Safety Tashaun Gipson has played pretty well in coverage this season, but he did contribute to giving up six catches for 56 yards to Austin Hooper last week. The final factor to consider is the Texans pass rush, which remains a strength of this unit and should give the banged-up Chiefs offensive line fits. Mahomes has dealt with strong pressure well in the past, but if his ankle even slightly limits his mobility, J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus could slow down this passing offense.
Recent Stats and Projections
| WEEK | OPP | oSNAP | RSH | YD | TD | TARG | REC | YD | TD | FumL | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | at OAK | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 6.0 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 | |
| 3 | vs BAL | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5.0 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 5.4 | |
| 4 | at DET | 69 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3.0 | 54 | 0 | 1 | 4.4 | |
| 5 | vs IND | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | vs HOU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 6 | vs HOU | PROJ-Dodds | * | 0 | * | * | 0.0 | * | * | * | * | |
| 6 | vs HOU | PROJ-Tremblay | * | 0 | * | * | 0.0 | * | * | * | * | |
| 6 | vs HOU | PROJ-Bloom | * | 0 | * | * | 0.0 | * | * | * | * |
Weekly Performance vs WR 1, WR 12, WR 24, WR 36
Percentile ranks
Sammy Watkins's percentile rank in each category, among WR with more than 50 fantasy points.
Recent Game Summaries
2019 Week 5 vs IND (0 / 0 / 0 / 0 rec)
Watkins came into the game against the Colts with a questionable tag (shoulder injury) and ended up injuring his hamstring on the Chiefs first drive. He did not record a catch before leaving the game. At this time, he is questionable for this Sunday's game against the Texans.
2019 Week 4 vs DET (6 / 3 / 54 / 0 rec)
Watkins caught three passes for 54 yards on six targets in the Chiefs win over the Lions on Sunday. It was the first game that Watkins did not lead (or tie for the lead) in targets from Mahomes this season. With Slay out for Detroit, Watkins had a great opportunity to put up big numbers, but Detroit's backup corners played him very well. This was especially true in the red zone where Watkins had three targets but could not convert on any of them. Watkins also had a fumble for the second straight game, but this was the first one he lost on the season.
2019 Week 3 vs BAL (8 / 5 / 64 / 0 rec)
Watkins caught five passes for 64 yards on eight targets in the Chiefs win over the Ravens on Sunday. Watkins led the Chiefs in targets for the third straight game, but unlike in week one, Watkins has not caught a touchdown pass the last two weeks. Those passes have gone to Hardman and Robinson, although it should be said that Watkins once again played a big part in confusing the defense on one of those touchdowns. While Hardman scored the 83 yard touchdown, it was Watkins who came in motion prior to the pass, and that motion played a big part in the Ravens leaving Hardman free to streak down the field open. Watkins continues to see a high volume of targets, so it won't be long before he gets back into the endzone.
2019 Week 2 vs OAK (13 / 6 / 49 / 0 rec)
Sammie Watkins caught six passes on 13 targets for 49 yards in the Chiefs win over the Raiders on Sunday. After setting the NFL on fire in week one, Watkins came down to earth against a Raiders secondary that was hell bent on shutting him down and allowing every other Chiefs receiver to run free all over the field. It was hardly Watkins fault that he attracted double coverage from the Raiders safety, especially over the top, but it was still shocking to see him finish with one more target than Robinson and Hardman combined, only with four less catches, 84 less yards and three less touchdowns. Watkins was essentially a decoy in this game, and Mahomes kept that going by targeting him often in the short passing game, while looking him off to go deep to his other receivers in single coverage. This was apparent on Robinson's first touchdown catch, as he ran straight down the field uncovered while the defense was shading coverage toward Kelce and Watkins. Going forward, Watkins won't attract this much attention when it is clear that the Chiefs have plenty of other pieces that can take advantage of this type of coverage.
2019 Week 1 vs JAX (11 / 9 / 198 / 3 rec)
Watkins caught nine passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns, striking fear in the Jaguars secondary every time he touched the ball. Watkins has always been thought of as having the natural talent to be a #1 receiver, which speaks to his speed, athleticism and strong hands. His problems were not of the football variety, but more his inability to stay healthy for long periods of time. In the Chiefs offense, Watkins is a luxury that matches up with opposing #2 cornerbacks, and that usually leads to one on one coverage. Watkins has a very solid season in his first year with the Chiefs in 2018, but there was an underlying thought that Watkins still had so much more to offer the Chiefs, which would have taken the offense to a completely new level, a scary thought when you have a third year MVP at quarterback and the architect of the NFL's best offense. If week one is any indication of where the Chiefs are heading, and what role Watkins is going to play in getting them there, then sit back, relax and enjoy the show. It did not take Watkins long to set the party off for Kansas City, all of two plays actually. With the Chiefs facing a third and three from their own 32 yard line, Mahomes took the snap out of the Shotgun formation and pump faked to the right side before going through his progressions. After pumping to the left side, Mahomes hit Watkins over the middle at the Chiefs 40 yard line. Watkins primary defender tried to jump the route but was late getting to the ball, allowing Watkins to turn the ball up-field. At the time of Watkins catching the ball, he is surrounded in a circle by six Jaguars defenders with only DeMarcus Robinson as a capable blocker. That wasn't a problem for Houdini Watkins though, as he cut up the field and juked two Jaguars defenders out of their shoes while expertly using Robinson's block to create an angle where the Jaguars defenders could not catch him on his way to a 68 yard touchdown. Watkins next touchdown catch came with the Chiefs facing a first and 10 from the 50 yard line. Mahomes took the snap under center with four receivers bunched in the slot on both sides, Mahomes play-action faked to Williams in the backfield and then looked off the Jaguars safeties with his eyes, drawing coverage to the left side of the field. Mahomes waited for Watkins to run a shallow crossing route from the left to the right, only the played called for Watkins to turn upfield at its apex, similar to a wheel-route. It was a genius level play call by Reid, as by the time Watkins had turned up field, there was not a Jaguar defender within 10 yards of him and a perfect lob pass made it an easy 50 yard touchdown for Watkin's second of the day. Watkins finished his day with a third touchdown catch from Mahomes, this time from three yards out with the Chiefs facing a second and goal. Mahomes took the snap out of the shotgun, directing McCoy to motion to the left side of the formation before snapping the ball. On the right side, Watkins was lined up out wide and ran a quick drag to the middle of the field before stopping on a dime and pivoting hard to the right side of the end zone. It is a route that Travis Kelce has been using his size/speed combination to kill his defenders with the last two seasons, and Watkins performed the route in a similar fashion. Watkins quick cut gave him a step on his defender and then Mahomes threw a perfect pass out away to the sideline, which allowed Watkins to use his length to snag the touchdown catch without his defender having a chance to make a play on the ball.
Latest News
Chiefs | Sammy Watkins won't play in Week 6 (Sun Oct 13, 10:40 AM) - Kansas City Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins (hamstring) will not play in Week 6's game against the Houston Texans, according to a source. link to story Chiefs | Week 6 injury report for Kansas City (Fri Oct 11, 05:31 PM) - Kansas City Chiefs OT Eric Fisher (groin), DT Chris Jones (groin) and LB Dorian O'Daniel (hamstring) did not practice all week and have been ruled out for Week 6 versus the Houston Texans. WR Sammy Watkins (hamstring) also did not practice all week, while OG Andrew Wylie (ankle) did not practice Friday, Oct. 11; both players are listed as doubtful. WR Tyreek Hill (shoulder) was downgraded to a limited practice Friday and is listed as questionable. LB Anthony Hitchens (groin) remained a limited participant in practice Friday but was taken off the injury report. OT Cameron Erving (knee), DE Alex Okafor (hip), FB Anthony Sherman (shoulder), QB Patrick Mahomes (ankle) and RB LeSean McCoy (ankle) were full participants in practice Friday and also no longer appear on the injury report. link to story Chiefs | Sammy Watkins unlikely to go in Week 6 (Fri Oct 11, 02:30 PM) - Kansas City Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins (hamstring) was unable to practice all week and is listed as doubtful for Week 6 against the Houston Texans. link to story Chiefs | Sammy Watkins doesn't practice Thursday (Thu Oct 10, 05:11 PM) - Kansas City Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins (hamstring) didn't participate in practice Thursday, Oct. 10. link to story Chiefs | Sammy Watkins still sidelined (Thu Oct 10, 01:09 PM) - Kansas City Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins (hamstring) remained out of practice Thursday, Oct. 10, for the second straight day. Our View: Watkins looks like he's on the doubtful side of questionable this week. If he and Tyreek Hill both sit, all of Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson, and Byron Pringle become viable WR3/Flex plays.link to story More News
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Schedule
| 6 | vs Houston Texans |
| 7 | @ Denver Broncos |
| 8 | vs Green Bay Packers |
| 9 | vs Minnesota Vikings |
| 10 | @ Tennessee Titans |
| 11 | @ Los Angeles Chargers |
| 12 | --- BYE WEEK --- |
| 13 | vs Oakland Raiders |
| 14 | @ New England Patriots |
| 15 | vs Denver Broncos |
| 16 | @ Chicago Bears |
| 17 | vs Los Angeles Chargers |
