Getty Sammy Watkins, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens, reacts during training camp at M&T Bank Stadium on July 31, 2021 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
The Green Bay Packers are looking for a playmaker in the passing game following disheartening injury news Wednesday, September 7, and a former Super Bowl champion is ready to rise to the occasion.
The Packers were already thin at wide receiver, and that was before Allen Lazard’s availability became a question mark due to an ankle injury that’s kept him out of regular practice work for over a week. If Lazard remains sidelined Sunday for the season opener against the Minnesota Vikings, the top job at the position may fall to Sammy Watkins by default.
“Aaron Rodgers has called Allen Lazard a WR1 all year,” ESPN’s Rob Demovsky tweeted on September 7. “If Lazard (ankle) can’t go, then Sammy Watkins could be the No. 1 option.”
Watkins was asked Wednesday about the possibility of assuming Lazard’s duties in his first game with the franchise, exuding extreme and believable confidence in his response.
“I’ve never been this sharp,” Watkins said. “Just to be this sharp, it feels good to go out there and play freely and play fast.”
Watkins Expects Packers QB Aaron Rodgers to Make Him Better
GettyQB Aaron Rodgers and WR Allen Lazard of the Green Bay Packers celebrate after a touchdown during a game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on January 9, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan.
Watkins went on to discuss what it means for a wide receiver to play with someone the caliber of four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers, noting that the quarterback’s presence is enough to elevate a receiver’s game by itself, and can go a long way toward erasing deficiencies and disadvantages caused by injuries and the like.
“To have a dude like that on the field, raise your level of play, it’s definitely gave me some life on the field, some elite ability to where man, I’m playing with one of the best quarterbacks. All I have to do is win my route, or run the right route, and everything else will carry out itself,” Watkins said. “I think you can get a scrub off the streets and throw them out there, and I think they gonna make some plays if you throw them out there with Aaron Rodgers.”
It won’t be the first time Watkins takes the field with an MVP or a potential all-timer at the position, either. He spent last season catching passes from former MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens. Watkins was also teammates with another former MVP in Patrick Mahomes for three years as members of the Kansas City Chiefs, where the two won a Super Bowl ring together in 2019.
Watkins Won Rodgers’ Confidence Over Course of Packers Camp
GettyQB Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers following a game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field on November 14, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
For Rodgers’ part, he has taken notice of what Watkins brings to the table as well.
The first noticeably positive pivot point in that regard came on August 16 after the Packers participated in a joint practice with the New Orleans Saints. Following the session, Rodgers called Watkins “a gamer” and noted that it was the wide receiver’s best practice of the preseason.
While speaking with reporters on August 31, Rodgers took the opportunity to publicly praise the player he’d seen Watkins become over the previous two weeks.
“I’ll tell you what, ever since the Saints practice, the first one, Sammy has been a different player,” Rodgers said. “He’s been super reliable. Every practice he’s made a bunch of plays.”
Joining Watkins in picking up an extra portion of the workload Sunday, should Lazard remain hampered by injury, will be first-year wideout Romeo Doubs and veteran Randall Cobb. Rookie Christian Watson’s role is harder to figure, as a knee surgery kept him sidelined for most of the preseason.