Nobody named Golden should ever be insecure.
And Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate would be no exception if his new team landed another receiver -- Clemson's Sammy Watkins -- in the first round of next month's NFL draft. The free-agent signee from the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, to the contrary, embraces the thought.
"Hey, the more the merrier. A lot of respect for Sammy Watkins. I think he's going to play a long time regardless of where he goes. I think he'd be a great addition to this offense, another deep threat for sure, another complement to myself, Calvin Johnson], [Kevin] Ogletree, [Jeremy] Ross and the other guys in the locker room," Tate [told Detroit's CBS affiliate. "We have a lot of explosive players, and if we can get another one, that just makes us better."
That's a refreshing outlook, particularly at a position where bigger egos sometimes expect a commanding presence in an NFL offense. The Lions, of course, have the NFL's top receiver in Calvin Johnson, so its not as though Tate expected to be the club's top receiving threat upon signing. Like many players fortunate enough to acquire a Super Bowl ring, Tate sounds like a man more concerned with securing more championship jewelry than with catching more balls. Watkins has made a visit to the Lions, and Johnson and Tate spoke with the former All-ACC star at the time.
"He seems to be a very humble guy," Tate added. "His game speaks for itself."
Getting Watkins, however, could be a tough trick for Lions general manager Martin Mayhew. Detroit holds the No. 10 overall pick in the draft, and Watkins has been projected as high as the No. 2 pick to the St. Louis Rams. A trade-up would almost certainly be necessary, and trade-ups at the top of the first round don't come cheap.
Tate, clearly, could see the logic in moving up. And here's guessing quarterback Matthew Stafford wouldn't mind it, either.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
