Will Watkins build off strong Week 12 performance for Rams?

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 26: Sammy Watkins
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 26: Sammy Watkins /
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After a solid game against the New Orleans Saints, the question now becomes whether Sammy Watkins can continue putting up big numbers for the Los Angeles Rams.

Back in August, the Los Angeles Rams made a bold move by acquiring Sammy Watkins in a trade from the Buffalo Bills with the intention of providing Jared Goff another dangerous weapon to work with in the passing game along with newcomers Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp. After the Bills made the decision to decline Watkins’ fifth-year option in the offseason, it seemed like it would only be a matter of time before the former Clemson star found a new home, although nobody expected a trade with the Rams to happen when it did.

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All of a sudden, Goff would have a reliable deep threat to work with in Watkins, which is something the Los Angeles quarterback lacked all of last season as a rookie. However, there was a time at the beginning of the season when Watkins was feeling a little frustration over his lack of catches due to the extra attention he was receiving from opponents, although he deserves plenty of credit for being a team player since this has helped Goff spread the football around more.

One of those players who benefited from opponents focused on the whereabouts of Watkins happened to be Robert Woods, who is expected to miss a few weeks after suffering a shoulder injury in Week 11 against the Minnesota Vikings. Losing Woods after the wideout was just beginning to heat up was a crushing blow to the offense, but luckily with other players like Watkins and Kupp being able to increase their workload, Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints wasn’t all too bad for the Rams on offense.

Next: 3 takeaways from Rams Week 12 win over Saints

Not only did Watkins make an immediate impact by finding the end zone right away on the opening drive, but the Los Angeles wideout finished the game with four catches for 82 yards with a season high nine targets from Goff. Now, the question becomes whether Watkins can build off this game to continue displaying similar performances during the final stretch so the Rams will have a better chance of securing a playoff spot, whether it ends up being from winning the NFC West or simply a Wild Card spot.