Tag: christian watson

Christian Watson is known for his speed and big play ability as a vertical threat. But his knowledge of the game and versatility to line up across the formation are what gives him a truly high ceiling as a wide receiver.

An important part of the Matt LaFleur offense is that the receivers are able to move around pre-snap and able to fill a variety of pass-catching roles. Having this element can create favorable matches for the offense, and specifically in Watson’s case, with the attention that he draws and the space he opens up with his speed, his presence can generate opportunities for others.

“What’s so unique about Christian is,” said Matt LaFleur before Monday’s practice, “you can line him up at the Z and tell him the next play when somebody might out, hey you got to go play F, or you got to go play X, and he doesn’t blink. And that’s tough for most guys to do, to switch your brain around like that.

“If we call a different formation, usually your Z receiver is out at No. 1, and you call a formation to put him in the slot is different than saying you’re the F and put him inside. I just think that his ability to do that is unique and is a great asset for us because it gives us a lot of flexibility of who we want to get in the game with him.”

The big downfield reception that Watson and Jordan Love were able to create on Monday was, in part, a product of pre-snap motion. By moving Watson around, it allowed him to get matched up with Innis Gaines. And while Gaines held up as best he could, that is a matchup that is always going to favor Watson.

Last season, about one-third of Watson’s total targets, came when he was lined up in the slot. He was also one of the more efficient slot targets in football, catching 16-of-22 passes at 2.29 yards per route run, which ranked 15th among all slot receivers, according to PFF.

Along with lining up both inside and out and motioning, during the NFL Owners’ Meetings back in March, LaFleur said that Watson was not only going to take on a larger role at receiver in terms of targets or snaps but also in the variety of routes he’s asked to run. Again, this will only make him more difficult for defenses to match up against.

“A lot,” said Watson when asked what his versatility brings to the offense. “It adds a lot of value to my game. It opens up a lot of opportunities for me to create mismatches and make plays. I really like being able to do all those things.”

The data and recent history suggest that many successful wide receivers in the NFL see a significant production jump in their second season. Given that Watson is still relatively inexperienced, there may be additional ups and downs coming his way. However, the opportunity for a Year 2 leap will be there for Watson. With the offseason roster changes he has been elevated to WR1. He’s now in his second year in the LaFleur system, and he can impact this offense in a wide variety of ways with his ability to move around and run a number of different routes.

“He just seems like a much more confident player,” added LaFleur, “and I think we saw that take shape last year about halfway through the season. You have to remember, I think any time you’re a young player and miss all of training camp, essentially, that’s tough, that’s difficult.

“Just him being healthy. He had a really good offseason. Just our knowledge with our offense, he is one of the most intelligent players that I’ve ever been around, especially when you talk about the wide receiver position.”

The red zone, formerly referred to as the gold zone in Green Bay, was the focal point of Thursday’s training camp practice, with the defense competing against the offense to see who would be doing up-downs at the end. The defense emerged victorious for the second consecutive day, but not without a valiant effort from second-year wide receiver Christian Watson.

Watson hauled in two touchdowns during the red zone period, both coming on back-to-back possessions, according to Packers Wire contributor Paul Bretl. On the first touchdown, Watson found space moving right to left across the field and caught an accurate pass from Jordan Love. Then, on the second touchdown, Watson ran a quick five-yard out route and made a contested catch with corner Rasul Douglas closing in a fraction of a second too late. After practice, Watson described the play’s impeccable timing.

“It was kind of like bang-bang. If it would have been an eighth of a second earlier or an eighth of a second later, it probably would have been different. It was a perfect ball, perfect placement by J Love, and the timing was just perfect.”

Green Bay hopes the chemistry Love and Watson build throughout training camp will turn into a deadly connection during the regular season. For that to happen, the two must be on the same page in crucial moments, like when the offense is deep inside the opponent’s territory.

As a receiver who tends to rely on his downfield speed to get open, the red zone presents a unique challenge for Watson. The field is more condensed, so the windows are tighter and it can be more difficult to beat defenses over the top. However, Watson appears to have a good grasp of what it takes to be successful inside the 20.

“I think it really comes down to understanding concepts and being at the right spot on time,” he said. “Everything happens a little faster in the red zone, so the faster you go out there and play and understand leverages and play off the (defensive back) quickly, the more plays you can make.”

“The concepts down there, it’s a lot of mesh stuff, it’s a lot of just finding the holes and sitting in the holes. So, the faster you can get to where you’re supposed to be, the faster Jordan can put it on us.”

As a rookie, Watson was in the right spot more times than not in the red zone, catching eight out of 13 targets for 54 yards and four touchdowns. Unfortunately, Green Bay’s offense as a whole struggled in that portion of the field for much of the 2022 season. Teamrankings.com ranked them 23rd overall in red zone efficiency last season with a touchdown percentage of 51.85. It was a considerable drop off from the 2020 offense scoring touchdowns on 76.81 percent of their red zone attempts and finishing first in the NFL. Former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett famously changed the name to the “gold zone” during that stretch.

Green Bay’s red zone offense may not be historically good in 2023, but it at least hopes to be better than it was a year ago. Matt LaFleur made it very clear that the red zone offense wasn’t up to their standard at the conclusion of the 2022 season.

“There is a lot we have to study this offseason,” LaFleur said after losing to the Detroit Lions in Week 18. “Whether it was poor play design, or lack of execution, or all of the above, it wasn’t good enough. We did a piss poor job in the red zone.”

What the team plans to do to improve their red zone offense this season remains to be seen, but competitive periods like the one at Thursday’s practice is an important part of the process.