Sammy Watkins says 2014 draft class can change the market

Speaking via Twitter, Buffalo Bills WR Sammy Watkins said “We gotta get paid more. I’m pretty sure the 2014 class will change the market.” Watkins is entering the last year of his rookie deal, and according to sportrac.com, he will make around $4.98 million in 2017. Watkins averaged 1.94 yards per route run in 2016, which ranked 22nd of 96 receivers with at least 40 targets.
In 2016, 14 of the 19 receivers from the 2014 class (with at least 40 targets) finished the season above the NFL average of 1.28 yards per route run, with five of them finishing within the top 10. In 2016, Taylor Gabriel, Willie Snead, and Odell Beckham Jr. graded as “good,” Jarvis Landry graded as “very good” and Mike Evans was the sole receiver from the 2014 class to be graded as “elite.”
Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown is set to earn $17 million in 2017, and will enter the 2017 season as the NFL’s highest-paid receiver. Brown’s 2.26 yards per route run ranked eighth of 96 receivers with at least 40 targets and his overall grade of 88.9 ranked third of 115 graded receivers. Both Gabriel and Beckham bettered him in yards per route run, and Evans bettered him in both yards per route run (2.28) and overall grade (93.3).