NFL Draft Profile: Christian Watson, Wide Receiver, North Dakota State Bison

NFL draft profile scouting report for North Dakota State Wide Receiver, Christian Watson

The NFL Draft Bible | Jan 17, 2022

NFL Draft Profile: Christian Watson, Wide Receiver, North Dakota State Bison /

In this story:

North Dakota State Bison

Christian_Watson_2021_NDSU_FB_Headshot_Crop

#1
Pos: WR
Ht: 6041
Wt: 208
Hand: 1018
Arm: 3248
Wing: 7758
40: 4.36
Bench: N/A
3-Cone: N/A
Shuttle: N/A
Vert: 38.5"
Broad: 11'04"
DOB:
Eligibility: 2022
Tampa, FL
Plant High School

Christian Watson
North Dakota State
Bison

One-Liner:

Long wideout with great speed who ís limited in short areas.

Pros:

Tall and long legged wideout who lines up at X receiver and operates on a vertical route tree. Watson has great build up speed when he opens his long stride which he uses to run past coverage. His speed also makes him dangerous as a kickoff returner and should translate to other special team roles. Watson uses his hands to get past and stack defensive backs downfield. After the catch, he falls forward to gain extra yards.

Cons:

As expected at his size, Watson has limited short area agility and explosiveness. His foot speed is below average which will hurt him when facing press coverage. As a route runner, Watson has to severely decelerate into his breaks to not drift upfield. His hips stay high as he struggles to sink them. Poor hands mean frequent drops which are especially frustrating downfield where he is unable to track the football consistently. In contested catch situations, Watson lacks the hand strength required to hold on to the ball through contact. His effort when running clearouts or blocking is bad, taking plays off and failing to deliver body blows. Watson lacks strength to consistently break tackles after the catch.

Summary:

Wide receiver with excellent size who possesses great long speed. Watson is a limited athlete in short areas which causes him to struggle against press and prevents him from separating underneath and in the intermediate area of the field. His catching is inconsistent and he lacks desired effort. Watson projects as a developmental wideout who can be a quality gunner. His combination of size and speed could lead to him becoming a deep threat with considerable technical development. Watson is likely to start off his career on a practice squad if he can’t make an impact on special teams right away.

Background:

Majoring in university studies with minors in business and psychology, Christian Watson’s Father played at Howard University and was a safety in the NFL for the Chiefs, Giants and Eagles from 1993 to 1997. He has one brother, Tre, who is a linebacker at the University of Illinois and also has a sister, Lexi, and two half-sisters, Bella and Aubrey. In High School, he was a 2017 graduate of H.B. Plant High School and a Two-year letterman for coach Robert Weiner. He played wide receiver and safety and averaged 17.1 yards per catch with eight receiving TDs and 587 all-purpose yards his senior year. Watson was part of a 13-1 state runner-up team in 2016 and also competed in track and field while being an honor roll student.

After redshirting in 2017 for the Bison, Watson got on the field in 2018. Watson played in 14 games including a pair of starts against Northern Iowa and Montana State. He caught nine passes for 165 yards. His longest play went for 48 yards against Southern Illinois and made a reception in eight different games including two catches in the NCAA semifinal win over South Dakota State. Watson had two kick returns for 36 yards against Missouri State and 15 yards against Southern Illinois and was named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference Honor Roll.

In 2019, Watson was All-Missouri Valley Football Conference second team and played in all 16 games including 11 starts at wide receiver. He was NDSU's leading receiver with 34 catches for 732 yards and six touchdowns and ranked third in the MVFC for receiving yards and was second in yards per reception (21.53). Watson caught at least one pass in 13 of 16 contests and was Third on the team with 964 all-purpose yards. He had at least 100 all-purpose yards in four of the final seven games. Watson made four receptions for a career-high 121 yards against Western Illinois. He had a Career-high seven receptions in the NCAA quarterfinal win over Illinois State totaling 107 yards and scored touchdowns on back-to-back offensive plays in the NCAA semifinal victory with a 75-yard reception and 70-yard rush bookending a Montana State three-and-out and breaking open a 7-7 game early in the second quarter. Watson went without a catch in the NCAA championship win over James Madison, but was part of a fake reverse handoff that fellow receiver Phoenix Sproles scored on from 38 yards and put NDSU ahead for good early in the second quarter.

In 2020, Watson was a First team All-America kickoff returner by The Associated Press, Stats Perform, HERO Sports, Athlon Sports and Phil Steele and an All-Missouri Valley Football Conference first team wide receiver and second team return specialist. He was the only player in the FCS to score two kickoff return touchdowns during the season, tying the NDSU single-season and career records. He averaged 33.8 yards on 10 kickoff returns and led the Bison with 896 all-purpose yards. Watson played in all 10 games including eight starts at wide receiver and was NDSU's leading receiver with 19 catches for 442 yards and one TD. He was MVFC Offensive Player of the Week on April 11 following the Northern Iowa game, where he accounted for 229 all-purpose yards including a 100-yard kickoff return TD. He caught two passes for 86 yards including a long of 61 yards in the final minute of the first half that set up an NDSU field goal. His 25-yard reception on third-and-8 extended a touchdown scoring drive in the fourth quarter of the 23-20 win at UNI and scored on a 94-yard kickoff return in the NCAA quarterfinal game at Sam Houston.

Grades:

Current Player Value/Potential Player Value

6.3/7.9

Quotes:

“I was a late bloomer in high school. I didn’t really shoot up until my junior year. I went from 5-9, 140, to 6-1, 160, in a matter of months. So, I was a late bloomer. I just didn’t get that interest early from any Power 5 schools, big schools, and North Dakota State came in. They were one of the first schools that were talking to me and I fell in love with the program early and they fell in love with me, and I was a hundred percent committed to them.” -- Christian Watson

Quote from NFL Combine: Day 1 Winners: Watson left Mobile as one of the winners of Senior Bowl week thanks to his rare combination of twitch in his lower half while being 6-foot-4 and over 200 pounds. On tape, Watson is as complete of a receiver in this class and wins in multiple ways. With back-to-back strong performances at the two biggest pre-draft evaluation processes, look for a strong pro day to potentially propel Watson to the first round.

When asked about what areas of his game he feels like he can develop the most, this is what Watson had to say: "Two points I've been trying to grow and continue to get better at throughout this process and throughout college as well has always been my speed at the top of my routes. I'm a fast guy vertically, just being able to incorporate that into the intermediate routes as well. Then obviously catching is something I always try to improve on as well, eliminating focus and concentration drops and just being able to make plays."

2/5/22 - Watson continued to look like the best wide receiver for the National team. He's a strong wideout with great size at 6-foot-4, 211 pounds and soft hands that showed up during the rainy conditions on Day 2 and with a difficult grab that was destined for the dirt during the game. Watson is the prospect who arguably raised his stock the most. Hailing from North Dakota State, a run-heavy program that dominates lower competition, there were fair questions about how Watson would respond to playing against the best upperclassmen in the nation. He answered the bell and then some with how he displayed an all-around skillset and won with savvy releases, body control and play strength. He's now a strong bet to be picked on Day 2.

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Published Jan 17, 2022

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