Former Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins found a new home in the NFL over the offseason, signing a one-year, $4 million deal with the Green Bay Packers in April.

Although Watkins has been plagued by injuries throughout his professional career — and got hurt again last season, when he had a career-low 27 catches, 394 yards and one touchdown in his lone season with the Baltimore Ravens — multiple members of the Packers’ organization have hyped Watkins up this offseason.

Wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator Jason Vrable said that he is “fired up” about Watkins, while general manager Brian Gutekunst said he believes the ninth-year NFL veteran has “some juice still left in him.” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur chimed in on Watkins as well, saying he doesn’t think Watkins’ game “has fallen off at all” since they were together with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017 when LaFleur was the Rams’ offensive coordinator and the team traded for Watkins. LaFleur added that he thinks Watkins is “going to be a big part” of the Packers’ offense this season.

Watkins was also recently talked up by Bert Whigham, the trainer of Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabriel Davis.

Watkins, who has also worked out in Orlando with Davis, is poised to “have a big year” in the opinion of Whigham.

“That guy is going to be good for the Packers,” Whigham said, per Pro Football Focus. “He started working with us like seven weeks ago, and he said he wanted to be ‘college Sammy.’ Sammy is going to have a big year. He told me, ‘I want to be Clemson Sammy Watkins.’ And I was like, ‘OK, let’s do it.’ He’s just up there squatting 405 for eight right now like it’s nothing. He started around 218, and he’s at 225 right now, too. He’s going to go be a No. 1 in Green Bay.”

A three-time, first-team All-American at Clemson, Watkins had 240 receptions for 3,391 yards and 27 touchdowns over 36 games (29 starts) in his career as a Tiger from 2011-13.

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images