All this talk about losing on the Watkins rental seems to missing some huge points.
Yeah we gave up a 2, but we will get back a 3 so moved down a round plus for one year of Sammy, but were there other gains?
1. Would we have been able to implement the offense without him? Did this allow the establishment of our offense going forward?
2. How much of Goff's development and (to an even more important point) confidence growth came from have Sammy on the roster?
3. Without Sammy are we a playoff team?
4. I f we are not a playoff team do we get Talib and Suh and Shields etc?
Yes we spent a 2nd rounder, but what would the opportunity costs have been if we did not have Watkins? It is impossible to quantify since he was on the team, but I have a feeling we still came out ahead with that "rental".
Now there is concern about the Cooks trade and how it is an automatic lose if it becomes a "rental". Here we go again. Obviously it is more costly going from 1 to 3 instead of 2 to 3, but even if he leaves after a year it is impossible to say if it was a total lose or not. Watkins for a year I would argue was a net win even with him walking.
