Sammy Watkins might be 29 years old and a veteran of over 100 NFL games, but the Green Bay Packers receiver proved he can still run on his 55-yard reception against the Chicago Bears in Week 2.
According to Next Gen Stats, Watkins hit 20.48 miles per hour on the play, making him the 13th fastest ball-carrier in the NFL during Week 2. His speed was on par with a long touchdown run by Lamar Jackson against the Dolphins and a long touchdown catch by Quez Watkins against the Vikings.
Off a run fake, Watkins scooted past cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Eddie Jackson and into the clear, and Aaron Rodgers found him wide open downfield for the big play. The explosive gain set up a field goal that gave the Packers a three-score lead in the fourth quarter, essentially sealing the win.
The straight-line speed is still there for Watkins, who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds coming out of Clemson in 2014.
“To get behind the defense and get that much separation, that was huge,” receiver Randall Cobb told Packers.com. “To make those plays in critical moments like that, that’s going to be a big piece of our offense, and we’re going to need him.”
Watkins finished with three catches for 93 yards. The Packers scored on all three drives that included a Watkins catch. He showed off some short-area explosiveness on two in-breaking routes, one for 14 yards and another for 24, in the first half.
Two of Watkins’ teammates were actually timed as faster in Week 2: Jaire Alexander and Christian Watson. Alexander was going 20.62 miles per hour when he intercepted Justin Fields late in the fourth quarter, while Watson was going 20.6 miles per hour on his 9-yard catch on a touch pass from Aaron Rodgers. For Watson, this is his second time in two weeks creating one of the fastest times of the week.
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