Tracking Sammy Watkins' progress

If you remember as far back as May, you probably remember the Buffalo Bills giving up a whole lot to get their hands on Sammy Watkins. You may also remember that they then quickly traded their number 1 receiver Stevie Johnson to the 49ers, on the back of a disappointing season. Given that prior to the 2013 season, Johnson had put up 1000 yard seasons 3 years on the bounce (and still notched almost 600 yards in his final year with the Bills), it is obvious how much faith that Watkins has garnered in Buffalo.

So far, Watkins has been steadily trucking along in his rookie season. He has not been Randy Moss, nor has he been Justin Blackmon, racking up a very respectable 284 yards through his first five NFL games. This is the highest receiving yardage on the Bills roster at present, which is no small accomplishment for any rookie. The dreaded (both by hair and by opponents, eh?) receiver also earned the respect of Coach Belichick this week, with Bill claiming that Watkins had a similar game to that of perennial Pro-Bowler Larry Fitzgerald in his pre-game presser.

Young Sammy has even played against some pretty strong secondaries this season, and had a huge game against the team ranked 4th in pass coverage (according to Pro Football Focus), the Miami Dolphins, putting up 117 yards (the Chargers top ranked secondary locked him up for a mere 19).

Watkins next challenge will come in attempting to perform in the face of a lockdown corner. He is yet to come up against a Sherman, Talib or in this week's case a Revis. This is particularly bad timing for Watkins, as Revis seemed to experience a return to form of sorts against arguably the league's second best receiver in AJ Green. Even given his young receiver's promising start, Kyle Orton may have to look elsewhere come Sunday, as the Bills No. 14 will likely be carrying a one-way ticket to Revis Island.

Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

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