It’s been the story of three seasons for Christian Watson, the team’s ridiculously talented second-round pick.
Stalled by a hamstring injury early in the season, Watson caught 10-of-14 passes for 88 yards in the first nine games of the season. He went out on the field and could not stay on the field. Then came his one of the most ridiculous stretches in NFL history. After dropping his two passes in Game 10 against Dallas, he rebounded and scored three touchdowns. He added two scores against Tennessee, one during a late rally in Philadelphia and one on a clinch touchdown run against Chicago, scoring seven touchdowns in four games. Did.
No one can play to that level with sustained stretching. During his four-game winning streak, Watson failed to reach 50 receiving yards in any game. In the finale against Detroit, when the Packers really needed someone to rise to the occasion, Watson caught a 5/6 pass for 104 yards and added two carries for another 12 yards.
Whether he has the ball or not, he is extremely talented and will require opponents’ defenses to watch him on every play. He’s also a quality blocker, which isn’t surprising given how he’s been used at North Dakota State.
There are two keys to moving forward. One is to stay healthy. Watson underwent knee surgery after offseason practice and was sidelined with hamstring, head, ankle and hip injuries. Another is catching the ball. He sinned five drops. Of his 84 receivers he was targeted at least 48 times, Watson’s 10.9% drop rate ranked him 80th. However, he has recorded 19 catches and zero drops in his last five games. And notably, he caught his passes 9 of his 12 contests, whose 75.0% success rate lined him up for second in his group of 84. .
Watson’s rookie season was just the appetizer. The main course looks mouth-watering, showing breathtaking speed with long touchdowns against the Cowboys, Eagles and Bears.
Grade: B.
