It’s time to admit that Christian Watson isn’t who the Packers wanted him to be
Second-year wideout Christian Watson showed a lot in his rookie season. So much, in fact, that many expected him to be the hands-down WR1 for the Green Bay Packers in the post-Aaron Rodgers era.
Nine games in, and with the Packers at 3-6, and that’s far from the case.
That’s not to say Watson can’t turn it around or that he doesn’t have the ability to break out in the future, but the potential superstar the Packers thought they had on their hands looks more like a one-trick pony.
Yes, he’s fast, but Watson has terrible hands, he doesn’t seem to have the ability to fight for contested catches and he’s seemingly always injured. When you consider that sometimes availability is the best ability, it doesn’t paint a sunny picture that Watson has played in only 20 of a potential 26 games so far in his career and there have been several games in which he did suit up for what was limited in.
He also seems to have zero connection with quarterback Jordan Love. Rob Demovsky of ESPN reported that Watson’s catch rate this season of 42% is the worst among the 120 players who have had at least 30 targets this season.
He’s caught just 14 of 33 targets for 236 yards and a touchdown
“It’s frustrating for sure, just with the expectation I have for myself, the goal that I have for myself,” Watson said after Green Bay’s 23-19 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. “And obviously it’s [frustrating] when we’re not being as successful as we want to be as a team. Just want to find ways to try to make more of an impact. But at the end of the day, I’m only one out of 11 people on the field, so we just need to find a way to get it done as a team
It has to be frustrating for sure, to come into a season expecting to be a star while in reality, Watson isn’t even the best wideout on his team right now.
That would arguably be rookie wide receiver Jayden Reed, who is the team’s leading pass catcher with 417 yards and four touchdowns. Watson’s classmate, Romeo Doubs, has also been solid so far, with 343 yards and six touchdowns to his name.
Heck, rookie fifth-round pick Dontayvion Wicks has even been better than Watson. Wicks has been a revelation with 17 catches for 240 yards and a touchdown.
Either way, there are clearly better options on this team right now for Love. And yes, Watson is right that this team as a whole needs to step up, but at least in the here and now, it has to start with him
