Niner Noise
FanSided

NFL free agency: 5 players the 49ers shouldn’t target in 2018

By Jay Marsdale

NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 24: Wide Receiver Sammy Watkins #12 of the Los Angeles Rams carries the ball against the Tennessee Titians at Nissan Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 24: Wide Receiver Sammy Watkins #12 of the Los Angeles Rams carries the ball against the Tennessee Titians at Nissan Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TN – DECEMBER 24: Wide Receiver Sammy Watkins #12 of the Los Angeles Rams carries the ball against the Tennessee Titians at Nissan Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN – DECEMBER 24: Wide Receiver Sammy Watkins #12 of the Los Angeles Rams carries the ball against the Tennessee Titians at Nissan Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

No. 2: WR Sammy Watkins

The San Francisco 49ers are definitely going to be in the market for a big-play receiver this offseason. There are many options in the draft, but there are also quite a few receivers hitting NFL free agency this year. One of those players is Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Sammy Watkins.

The Rams traded for Watkins to be their No. 1 wide receiver and help young quarterback Jared Goff develop. That didn’t happen. Instead it was receiver Robert Woods and rookie receiver Cooper Kupp helping Goff succeed in 2017. Watkins was a non-factor for most of the season. The 49ers need not look further than his stats to see this.

Watkins came into the NFL with the Buffalo Bills with incredible hype and he showed glimpses of that potential in Buffalo. That potential made the Rams eager to jump, but the 49ers should stay away.

Watkins has not had a 1,000-yard season since 2015 and has been dealing with nagging injuries his entire career. Last season, playing in the most explosive offense in the NFL, Watkins failed to reach 600 yards. That put him behind players like Adam Humphries, Vernon Davis and Christian McCaffrey in receiving yards for 2017.

Watkins is not a No. 1 receiver anymore. The problem is that someone is going to see his athleticism and size and pay him big this offseason. San Francisco can not afford to throw money at a player who is not producing on the field like Sammy Watkins.