The Green Bay Packers made a significant investment in 2022, giving up two late second-round picks to move up in the second to take wide receiver Christian Watson. His promising second half of the rookie season indicated he could be a top offensive weapon, but what has happened since last year hasn’t materialized that expectation.
Injuries and a questionable connection with quarterback Jordan Love at times transformed Watson into a smaller part of the offense. But his efficiency this season indicates that head coach Matt LaFleur could give more chances once again.
Yes, Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs have been more reliable and productive. But the number of snaps and targets of Watson and Dontayvion Wicks don’t reflect what they have done this season, and that’s an analysis the Packers need to do.
Through 10 weeks, a look at raw WR separation on all routes and their grade at catchpoint+ after catch pic.twitter.com/6BN60qUCvs
— Jrfortgang (@throwthedamball) November 13, 2024
This combination of stats, for instance, is a good case for how impactful Christian Watson can be. Nobody on the roster has created more separation — which supposedly is Wicks’ calling card. And Watson has a much better grade at the catchpoint, where Watson is closer to Romeo Doubs.
The main point of the graph: Doubs can catch but doesn’t get open, Wicks gets open but doesn’t catch. Reed and Watson are the ones who have done both to a positive degree.
The differences between Watson and Wicks are staggering. Both played 48% of the offensive snaps. But Wicks had 43 targets, against 27 for Watson. Even with such a gap in targets, they both have 16 receptions, and Watson has more receiving yards (233 to 192). Watson has an 81.3 passer rating when targeted, against 64.8 from Wicks.
Targets in 2024:
- Jayden Reed – 47
- Romeo Doubs – 45
- Dontayvion Wicks – 43
- Tucker Kraft – 39
- Christian Watson – 27
- Josh Jacobs – 24
Christian Watson has also been a willing blocker, an important aspect to be a respected part of Matt LaFleur’s unit. Especially considering the emergence of tight end Tucker Kraft and decline of Luke Musgrave as a consequence, Watson is obviously the biggest deep threat on the roster. But he deserves chances to execute a more significant impact.
Shoutout to Christian Watson for always doing the little things! pic.twitter.com/MCcrmvplhO
— Ben Kim Paplham (@benkimpap) October 29, 2024
Over the last two years, Christian Watson has been treated basically as a new version of Marquez Valdes-Scantling. But he has the talent to be more than that, and LaFleur should give him more chances to do so.
