“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.