While the Giants are coming off a win over the Washington Commanders that has moved them closer to making the postseason, the fact remains that New York’s receiving corp is thin and could use the help whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Injuries took their toll on the unit and at one point it looked as though the Giants were trying to take a gamble on free agent receiver Odell Beckham Jr., but that fizzled out as questions about his ability to play this season started to come to the surface. But with three weeks left in the season, another receiver option may have presented itself on Monday.
Sammy Watkins was reportedly waived by the Green Bay Packers on Monday morning after an underwhelming season in Wisconsin. If he isn’t claimed by a team then the veteran receiver would become an unrestricted free agent.
Watkins has been hampered by injury issues across his career and that continued in Green Bay, which played into his season and lack of production.
While Watkins comes with plenty of question marks, is there enough of an upside for the Giants to take a shot and bolster their depth at receiver with three crucial games left on the calendar and a possible trip to the playoffs on the horizon? Here is why the Giants should and should not give Watkins a chance.
Why the Giants should not give Watkins a chance
Yes, New York could use some more targets for Daniel Jones to throw to, but Watkins’ lack of productivity this year makes it hard to justify giving him a place on the roster or even the practice squad. Watkins has had just 13 catches for 206 yards with Green Bay this year and he has not had a single catch since Week 10 against the Tennesee Titans when he had three catches for 47 yards.
He didn’t have a single catch on two targets in Week 11 and he was on the field for just 8% of the offensive snaps in Week 12 and 11% in Week 13. Watkins also missed a month of action due to a hamstring issue, which would surely make the Giants brass a little worried since they’ve already dealt with so much injury turmoil at the position.
Darius Slayton has stepped up as one of Jones’ favorite targets and was tied for a team-high five targets on Sunday night against the Commanders. Richie James has also stepped up with the Giants having limited options, and even Isaiah Hodgins has taken on a greater role.
New York has ridden through the season thus far with the group and they very much stayed in the playoff picture.
Why the Giants should give Watkins a chance
The case for Watkins is there too. While the negatives exist, the Giants can’t scoff at adding any help whenever they can get it and adding a veteran receiver into the mix wouldn’t be a bad idea. Watkins wouldn’t be asked to take over a No. 1 receiver role and could slot in and out of games depending on the situation, which would allow the Giants to take some of the pressure off a Slayton or James. It should also limit some of the risks of injury to the receiver.
Tthe other positive is hat Watkins is a receiver that would only be here for the season, unless he really stood out in the final weeks of the season and a potential playoff run. New York, who has very well-known cap issues this season, wouldn’t carry the burden of having to keep Watkins for longer than this season while helping to give their group more depth.
The Giants would certainly do their due diligence with a decision like this, but this has low-risk, high-reward written all over it.
