A lot of things have to improve for the Green Bay Packers to get better on offense over the final 10 games, but one obvious area improvement lies with second-year wide receiver Christian Watson.
Watson’s first four games in 2023 hardly resemble the breakout playmaker he became to end the 2022 season. To get the offense back on track, Watson must come alive down the stretch — starting Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
Over four games in 2023, Watson has been targeted 24 times, catching only 11 for 176 yards and a touchdown. He’s 0-for-8 on contested catches and averaging 1.49 yards per route run, and Jordan Love’s passer rating when targeting him is 45.1. Watson is one of only four receivers with at least four contested-catch opportunities and zero catches, his yards per route run ranks 53rd out of 100 qualifying receivers and his passer rating when targeted ranks 97th.
Last season, Watson caught 9-of-12 contested-catch opportunities (75 percent conversion rate ranked third), averaged 2.26 yards per route run (11th-best) and had a passer rating of 123.3 when targeted (third-best).
Watson has three catches of 20 or more yards this season, but 77 of his 176 receiving yards this season came on one play in which the Raiders suffered a coverage breakdown.
As a deep threat, Watson has struggled to produce. He has just one catch — the 77-yarder in Las Vegas — on seven targets on throws over 20 yards in the air. Five of the seven have been catchable, but he dropped one and is 0-for-4 on contested catches on balls thrown over 20 yards in the air.
As was the case last year, Watson dealt with an injury early in the season and missed the first three games. He didn’t truly break out as a rookie until Week 10. In 2023, getting on the same page as Jordan Love has been a work in progress, but time on task is no longer an excuse.
“I’m in a good spot. I just gotta find a way to be better,” Watson said. “I want to be great.”
The trade deadline passed. No veteran help is arriving at wide receiver. The Packers need Watson to be great — on a level comparable to his finish in 2022 — for the offense to finally get going in 2023. Watson’s playmaking ability and threat as a deep receiver was one of the keys that unlocked the offense over the final two months last year. He’s one of many keys on the Packers’ chain that need to start fitting into locks over the final 10 games.