“With the 34th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers select…
With these words the Packers bucked their own trend of not spending high draft capital on wide receivers. The explosive North Dakota State Bison had Packers fans and dynasty drafters alike ready for deep balls from Aaron Rodgers, reminiscent of the over the shoulder passes we would see thrown to Jordy Nelson. Unfortunately, that excitement would be short lived. Watson would struggle to stay on the field that season, and the next season, and the one after that, and then again last year. So why am I so excited about Christian Watson?
The Potential
Christian Watson is one of the greatest athletic specimens we have ever seen enter the league. During the pre-draft process the league gives out what’s called a Relative Athletic Score, this takes the measurements of players given during the combine and at their pro-day workouts, and gives it a grade on a 10-point scale. The greatest of all time is Calvin Johnson. Ever heard of him? He scored a 10.0. Guess who’s in second place and also scored a 10.0. Just take a guess. He’s the topic of this article. Christian Watson. At 6’4” Watson ran a 4.36 40 yard dash. His 10 yard split was 1.45 seconds, which measures in the 99th percentile. Christian Watson is as explosive as it comes. Did I mention his hands are 10⅛ inches wide? At NDSU, Watson averaged 20.4 yards per catch over his 4 year career on 105 catches, 2140 receiving yards, and 14 touchdowns. The potential was off the charts.
The Injuries
For a long time, Christian Watson has had difficulty playing a whole season. The last time he completed an entire season of football was 2019, his sophomore year of college. So to say he’s injury prone seems like an appropriate label for this guy. Right? I can see why someone would make that argument. But knowing the details helps us get a better understanding of what the issue is, and if it can be overcome. After missing 11 games in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Watson was sent to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where it was uncovered that Watson had a 20% muscle imbalance in his hamstrings. That’s bad . It would certainly cause injury in a 6’4” speedster, running NFL routes. Watson has since worked to correct this muscle imbalance since the end of the 2023 season. Great, now he’s better.
Watson returned in 2024 to a wide receiver room that was packed. His opportunity share had decreased, his usage rate decreased, the Packers had hedged their bets in case they needed to move on, or so it seemed. Their guy from 2022 was looking like one of the biggest “what if’s” Green Bay has ever seen. Then in January of 2025, that same season, he tore his ACL. Unlucky? Cursed? Forsaken by God? I don’t think so. I think Christian Watson suffered an ACL tear just like Tom Brady did in 2008. Just like Cooper Kupp in 2018, and Adrian Peterson in 2011. Brady would go on to play at the highest level for more than a decade. Kupp had the greatest fantasy season by a wide receiver ever 3 years later. Peterson followed up the next season with over 2,000 rushing yards. Yeah, guys tear their ACL’s when they play football. That doesn’t mean they’re injury prone. It could happen to anybody.
If you want to be worried about a corrected hamstring imbalance (which hasn’t caused him to miss any games since week 17 of 2023), and an ACL tear from January of 2025, be my guest. Lower his ADP. I’d be happy to take him in the 6th round.
The Expectation
Christian Watson looks like he’s about to play a full season of football for the first time in seven years in 2026. This would be the first time in his NFL career. And if he does? Well, he’s been pretty good when he’s on the field. Watson has averaged over 17 yards per catch over his whole career. With a catch rate of 64%, this ranks near A.J. Brown, CeeDee Lamb, and Chris Olave. Last year Watson’s target share was around 20%. With Romeo Doubs and Dontayvian Wicks now gone, Green Bay has cleared up over 130 targets in the offense. They also signed him to a 4 year $110.5 million contract extension. With these investments made in Christian Watson, I won’t be surprised if Watson sees his targets go from 5.5 per game to around 7-9 targets per game. This lands him around 135 targets, and if he maintains his 64% catch rate, that’s 87 catches. If his YPC total falls from 17 to 14 which would be a career low, that’s over 1200 receiving yards. This is certainly in the range of outcomes for Christian Watson. That would have been top 7 in the league in 2025.
Christian Watson is an athletic freak. His ability to stay on the field has been an issue, but from what I can tell, the injuries are no longer a concern. The receiving room has space for Watson to succeed. Jordan Love is a pocket passer who loves the long ball, and he learned it from the best player to ever throw the football. My expectations are high for Christian Watson. Too high? One could say. But the sky really is the limit for Christian Watson this season, and with the amount of playable receivers in late rounds this year, I’ll take a risk in round 5 or 6 to take a guy who could finish inside the top 10 at the position.
To stay up to date, and for more from Elite Fantasy Football, follow us out on X @ELITE_Fantasy_
Check out where Christian Watson is going on your Fantasy Platform using Dynatyze’s NFL ADP Command Center, with data from platforms including ESPN, Sleeper, Yahoo!, Underdog, and more at https://dynatyze.com/football/adp .