Christian Watson Emerges as Packers’ No. 1 Receiver

With his hamstring problems behind him, Christian Watson has made a healthy impact for the Packers down the stretch.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (9) catches a pass against Seattle Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The stats might not say it, but Christian Watson has become the Green Bay Packers’ No. 1 receiver down the stretch.

Since the bye, Watson has played 225 snaps. That’s 84 more snaps than Jayden Reed and Dontavion Wicks during those five games. He’s played the most snaps among the receivers in each of the last four games.

“I think Christian’s been practicing better,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Tuesday, two days after Watson played a unit-high 50 snaps in a win over the Seahawks. “I think he’s had a great probably last two months. He’s really showed up and it’s showing up on gameday.”

The last three games, Watson has played 78.1 percent of the snaps against Seattle, 92.0 percent of the snaps against Detroit and 94.4 percent of the snaps against Miami.

Playing time is earned. It’s not given.

Watson has earned it.

He caught three passes for 56 yards against Seattle and drew a 39-yard penalty for pass interference. That came on the heels of four catches for 114 yards against Detroit, his second 100-yard game since the bye (four catches for 150 yards at Chicago).

“He’s made a lot of great plays,” LaFleur continued. “That catch he made on the sideline, that was big-time. He also drew a pass-interference call; that was a 40-yard penalty that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, but that was a big-time play. And not to mention he’s blocking his butt off, as well.

“In every phase of the game, he’s been A-plus. The guy is extremely intelligent. We can move him around. He rarely will have a mental error and he’s doing a good job of winning his one-on-one opportunities.”

It’s been a rewarding stretch for Watson. He had zero catches in three games, including against San Francisco in Week 11, and five games of less than 15 yards.

Watson never grumbled about limited opportunities, though.

“Just keep working,” Watson said after the Seattle game. “I know if I continue to do what I need to do – obviously I’m always putting the team first – I know that if I focus on being the best version of myself, that’s going to help the team the most. Just keep on working and know that it’s going to come.”

They’ve come, and Watson has taken advantage.

- Among all receivers with at least 25 receptions this season, Watson’s 21.4 yards per catch trails only the Colts’ Alec Pierce (22.2). If that average holds, it would rank eighth in franchise history and fourth in the Super Bowl era.

- In the five games since the bye, Watson has 13 receptions for 387 yards. His 29.8-yard average is the best ever by a Packers receiver over a five-game stretch (minimum 10 receptions), according to the team’s Dope Sheet.

- Watson’s always known for his elite skill-set, and the Packers and Jordan Love – who’s never turned down an opportunity to go for a big play – have maximized his tools. Among all receivers who have been targeted at least 45 times this year, Watson’s average distance of target is 18.6 yards – behind only Pierce’s 22.6.

With his hamstring problems behind him, Watson is playing better than ever. After catching 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) contested-catch opportunities last year, Watson has caught 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) this year, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s dropped only one pass.

During Watson’s first two seasons, he caught 10-of-35 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield, just 28.6 percent. This year, according to PFF, he’s caught 7-of-18 (38.9 percent).

“It’s definitely been there,” he said of the team’s deep-ball success. “The opportunities have been there. We’ve made some plays down the field. I think all of us know we could be a little bit better finding ways to get on top a little better when the leverage isn’t always in my favor. We’re getting there and we’re making splash plays. You’ve just got to find a way to take them when they’re there.”

In the five games since the bye, 56 receivers have been targeted at least 20 times, according to PFF. Watson is just 51st in catches but he’s 12th with 387 yards, first with 29.8 yards per catch, fifth in YAC per catch (8.0) and second in yards per route (3.76), according to PFF.

Watson might never be a high-volume receiver. But he’s a big-time playmaker who has become more of a focal point of the offense.

“I think me and Christian, all the receivers, have a great connection,” Love said after the Seattle game. “Just trying to get him those targets is something we’ve been trying to do lately, and he’s been doing a great job. There’s a couple of deep balls today that were left short. I wish I would have been able to put them out there more for those guys to make a play, but they’re doing a great job trying to fight through contact and drawing some of those PI calls.

“But, obviously, trying to get him the ball as much as possible, the way he’s running down the field and getting past some of these DBs, so definitely something to keep going, going forward.”

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