Bill receiver Sammy Watkins (ribs) was available at practice on Friday, but coach Doug Marrone said there has been no verdict for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears. The rookie wideout has been dealing with a rib injury for most of the preseason, which he aggravated in last week's preseason finale.
Sammy Watkins likely to be available for fantasy owners in Week 1
Sammy Watkins was at practice on Friday and will likely play on Sunday. We break down the fantasy implications.
Grant Halverson
Watkins originally suffered the injury on Aug. 17, but he's been going through most of the practices with the team. He's dominated his teammates in practice, but the Bills have really struggled moving the ball against other teams in the preseason.
Watkins will likely be starting opposite Mike Williams as the Bills will have to try to protect E.J. Manuel for long enough to allow him to get the ball to the outside. If Watkins can't play his full complement of snaps, Williams would be in line for more targets.
Fantasy impact: Watkins' fantasy value has taken a serious dive since being drafted. While he's a freak, the Bills' scoring woes have made him fall behind other rookies such as New Orleans Saints receiver Brandin Cooks and Carolina Panthers receiver Kelvin Benjamin for 2014 redraft leagues. Watkins' owners will probably want to bench him and he's more of a desperation WR3 in deeper leagues until the Bills figure out how to get their aerial attack off the ground.
