Sammy Watkins spent three years with Patrick Mahomes on the Chiefs, witnessing the star quarterback's 50-touchdown MVP season, 2019 Super Bowl victory and follow-up AFC title run. But that doesn't mean he'd take Mahomes over his current QB. Asked last month by teammate Randall Cobb if he'd rather have Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers, the new Packers wide receiver was clear: Rodgers, by a long shot.
"I've been with both of 'em, and I'm gonna be honest," Watkins said from the locker room. "I think Pat is unbelievably good. But A-Rod is on a whole different level."
"It makes me calm," he continued, "just to be in the huddle with him, just the way he carries himself."
It's a notable answer considering Watkins played some of his best career football while catching passes from Mahomes. From 2018-20, the former first-round draft pick served as one of the Chiefs' top receivers despite missing a combined 14 games due to injury, most notably racking up 288 receiving yards in Kansas City's three playoff games during the Super Bowl year.
Watkins is the second starting wideout from that championship team to compare Mahomes with a new QB this offseason, after ex-Chiefs speedster Tyreek Hill was traded to the Dolphins in March. The 29-year-old veteran is on track to open 2022 as one of Rodgers' top three targets following Green Bay's own big-name trade of Davante Adams. He spent 2021 with the Ravens, starting nine games, after his three-year run in Kansas City, which followed stints with the Bills and Rams.
