Watkins Embracing the Grind, Opportunity

Green Bay Packers receiver Sammy Watkins had a big first day of joint practices against the New Orleans Saints. That was encouraging. More encouraging is how Watkins has strung together a bunch of strong days.

“Sammy has been a different player,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said on Wednesday. “He’s been super-reliable and every practice made a bunch of plays. Today he had a bunch of plays again.”

That’s been the target for Watkins as he attempts to resurrect his career. Last year with Baltimore, Watkins had 257 yards during the first four games and 137 yards the rest of the season. In 2019 with Kansas City, Watkins had 198 yards and three touchdowns in the opener but never reached 65 yards or found the end zone the rest of the season.

The 29-year-old has put himself in position to start in Year 1 in Green Bay. How long he stays in that position, with two talented rookies waiting in the wings, is up him.

“I’m just trying to really be consistent,” he said. “That’s been the knock on my career – consistency. And I just think I’ve got to continue to stack good days on top of good days. Because you look at the great wide receivers – Davante Adams, Ja’Marr Chase – they’re not just good one day. They’re consistent. They’re consistent every day, every week. And I think that’s where I’ve got to translate my game: Coming to practice and being good at practice every day, not having an off-day.”

There are two keys for Watkins. One is staying healthy. After missing 18 games the last four seasons, Watkins was sidelined for the first couple days of training camp with a tight hamstring. It was an ominous start. But he hasn’t missed a practice since returning on July 29. The other key is getting on the same page with Rodgers. That’s been a work in progress, but that process has been exciting to Watkins.

“I feel like today, if I watch film, I’m pretty sure he’ll be in the room like, ‘What the freak are you doing? What type of route is that?’” he said. “So, every day as a wideout, you’re looking to not be on that screen messing up or doing something you shouldn’t be doing.

“I think that’s what’s going to bring the best out of me is his standard, what he wants out of us, and I think if I can continue to be scared going into practice, making sure I do the right things, I think my game, my level of play will be even better. Because he’s like a freaking coach/player. How he wants things is how he wants things. And that’s how you should do it. Being consistent every day, competing, doing things the right way — not the way we think we should do it, but doing it the way he wants and the coaches want it. I think that’s very critical.”

One play during Day 2 of the Saints practices stands out. With nobody open, Rodgers extended the play to his right. Watkins initially ran a curl route. When he saw Rodgers move, he reacted. Watkins found space and Rodgers “freaking put it between two or three dudes.” There was no thinking, no playing robotically. It was a veteran receiver playing on feel and doing exactly what Rodgers wanted in the flow of the play.