The Buffalo Bills really wanted Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins in the 2014 NFL Draft. They ended up trading up to the No. 4 spot to get him, but they initially tried to trade all the way up to the top overall pick to get Watkins.
āWe went with Houston right off the bat,ā Jim Monos, Buffaloās director of player personnel, said, via a video on the Billsā website. āWe tried to go to No. 1. They werenāt having it. They knew who they wanted, so we started working our way right down.ā
It seems to confirm reports ahead of the draft that the Bills were enamored by Watkins. After they failed to work out a trade with the Houston Texans, they were left to wait. They knew their only chance would be if the Jacksonville Jaguars didnāt select Watkins with the third pick, which of course they didnāt allowing the Bills to trade up to No. 4.
āWe really didnāt know,ā Monos said. āJacksonville never tipped it. We had just heard so much that they needed a receiver. We thought that this was going to be Sammy. We knew that if Jacksonville didnāt take him we had a shot.ā
Watkins said he didnāt have a clue where he was ending up either and is happy to be in Buffalo.
āI really had no clue (where I was going),ā Watkins said on The Doug Gottlieb Show. āIām just in a great situation right now, coming in with a veteran quarterback and veteran receivers to learn from.ā
