Samuel Benjamin Watkins IV (born June 14, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills fourth overall in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Watkins attended South Fort Myers High School in Fort Myers, Florida, where he was a letterman in football, basketball and track & field. He became the all-time leading receiver in the history of Lee County with 133 catches for 2,997 yards and 36 touchdowns during his career. In his junior and senior years, he was a first-team all-state selection. As a sophomore, he had 33 receptions for 537 yards and 10 scores. In his junior year, he added 46 catches for 1,192 yards and 14 touchdowns. As a senior, Watkins had eight 100-yard receiving games on the season, accumulating totals of 54 catches for 1,268 yards and 12 touchdowns. He led an undefeated South Fort Myers team into the 3A state semifinals, where they lost 44–28 to a Duke Johnson-led Miami Norland team. He played in the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
In addition to football, Watkins ran track & field for the Wolfpack, where he was one of the state's top performers in the sprinting events. As a junior, he finished fifth in the 100 meters and sixth in the 200 meters at the state meet. As a senior, he captured the AA state title in the 200 meters, with a PR of 21.11 seconds. He also won the 100 meters at the 2011 Tarpon Invitational, recording a personal-best time of 10.45 seconds.
Watkins was a highly touted recruit before the 2011 college football season. Regarded as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated the third-best wide receiver prospect in the nation, behind only George Farmer and Trey Metoyer. He was ranked fifth best by Scout.com. Watkins committed to Clemson University in November 2010. Recruited by dozens of schools, he chose Clemson over offers from Florida, Florida State, Miami (FL), Michigan, and Tennessee.
2014-2016 |
2017 |
2018-2020 |
2021 |