Despite struggles, Rams need to strongly consider extension for Sammy Watkins

Sammy Watkins was acquired by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2017 preseason from the Buffalo Bills.

After the offense ranked near the bottom of the league in 2016 with the team only averaging 14 points per game, the Los Angeles Rams entered the offseason with the intention of boosting their receiving corps to make life much easier for Jared Goff in the passing game. And while the team did a pretty good job for the most part by bringing Robert Woods (free agency) and Cooper Kupp (NFL Draft) on board, the argument can be made that nothing compares to the excitement of acquiring Sammy Watkins through a trade.

In a move that came as a surprise by many, the Rams were able to convince the Buffalo Bills to trade the former first-round pick, who was considered a bust for the most part during his first three seasons with the team. Between numerous injuries to playing in an inconsistent offense, there were numerous reasons why things didn’t work out with Watkins in Buffalo, but at least this would eventually lead to the wideout landing in Los Angeles.

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Despite all of the struggles surrounding Watkins over the years, let’s not forget there’s a reason why the Bills were so high on him back in 2014 when they were willing to trade up in the first round just to draft him. But at the end of the day, a fresh start with a new team like the Rams seemed like it would benefit everyone at the end of the day, especially since the Bills declined picking up his fifth-year option before the trade even happened.

With that being said, Watkins may be frustrated over his lack of production through seven games (18 catches for 264 yards with two touchdowns) with Los Angeles, but also keep in mind the No. 1 wideout has received extra attention from opposing defenders. Not to mention, with defenders focusing most of their attention on the whereabouts of Watkins, it has helped open the way for other players like Woods and Kupp to get more open.

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Hopefully, Watkins will eventually figure out a way to get those numbers up over time since the Rams would love nothing more than to have him be around for the long run since the offense ranks near the top of the league at the moment. So after the discussion over the possibility of giving Watkins an extension a few months ago shortly after he joined the team, Los Angeles should strongly consider making this happen sooner rather than later to help make this offense a threat for years to come.