When the Green Bay Packers selected North Dakota State receiver Christian Watson in the second round of the 2022 draft, the word on Watson was that he had all the tools in the world, but that his hands and route acumen needed work before he’d be able to succeed at the NFL level.
That may have been true, but over the Packers’ last four games, Watson has proven to be the NFL’s most prolific touchdown target. With 17 seconds left in the first half of Green Bay’s Sunday game against the Chicago Bears, Aaron Rodgers threw this 14-yard touchdown pass to Watson, which was his seventh touchdown catch since Week 10.
Week 1-9: 0 TDs
Week 10-13: 7 TDsChristian Watson is on FIRE 🔥
pic.twitter.com/aJOiAXG4SM— OddsChecker (@OddsCheckerUS) December 4, 2022
Christian Watson’ seventh — 7th! — touchdown catch in his last four games.
He's the first Packers rookie with a TD catch in four straight games since Billy Howton in 1952 (5 straight), per @ESPNStatsInfo
Bears 16, Packers 10 at the half. pic.twitter.com/1OLZHexg3y
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) December 4, 2022
To put that into perspective, coming into Week 13, there were just three players with more than seven touchdown catches on the entire season — Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (12), Buffalo Bills receiver Stefon Diggs (10), and Las Vegas Raiders receiver (and former Rodgers No. 1 target) Davante Adams (10). Watson has taken some time to get the hang of the position at this level, but you can certainly see the development, especially where it matters most.
Packers’ faith in rookie WR Christian Watson could save their offense… and their season
It’s probably too late to save the Packers’ season at this point, but Watson brings a ray of sunshine for 2023 and beyond.