Packer Central

Rookie of Month Watson Outshining Megabucks NFL Stars

The NFC’s Offensive Rookie of the Month, Christian Watson has found the end zone more than most of the NFL’s high-profile, megabucks receivers.

Bill Huber

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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson, the newly minted NFC Offensive Rookie of the Month, should probably be paying rent in the end zone after scoring six touchdowns the last three weeks.

Though maybe he couldn’t afford such a posh piece of real estate.

There are 11 receivers with average salaries topping $20 million per season. Here they are, from Tyreek Hill’s $30.0 million per season to Keenan Allen’s $20.025 million, and their number of touchdowns.

Tyreek Hill, Miami: 4

Davante Adams, Las Vegas: 10

DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona: 3

Cooper Kupp, L.A. Rams: 6

A.J. Brown, Philadelphia: 7

D.K. Metcalf, Seattle: 4

Stefon Diggs, Buffalo: 9

Deebo Samuel, San Francisco: 2

Terry McLaurin, Washington: 2

D.J. Moore, Carolina: 4

Keenan Allen, L.A. Chargers: 1

Watson, with his four-year rookie deal averaging $2.31 million per season, has more touchdowns in three weeks than seven of those 11 players have for their entire seasons.

What’s more, last year, the first-team All-Pro receivers were Adams, Kupp and Samuel, with two of the NFL’s young guns, Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson and Cincinnati’s Ja-Marr Chase, earning second-team honors. With Chase scoring six touchdowns and Jefferson scoring five, the five All-Pros from last year have combined to average 5.8 touchdowns. Watson beat them in November alone.

“That’s the craziest part is how quickly it’s happened over this past month,” Watson said on Thursday. “It’s the craziest part. I’m just taking it one week at a time and putting in that work, putting in that preparation in everything I need to do, and whatever happens on Sunday, happens. Obviously, I’m thankful for the opportunities. I know I’m not always going to have six touchdowns every month.”

Why not? Watson laughed, then continued: “I think it was just a flash of what I’m able to do going forward. It’s been a boost of confidence for me.”

At the start of offseason practices, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich predicted Watson would be a “problem once he figures things out.” With three touchdowns vs. Dallas, two vs. Tennessee and one vs. Philadelphia the last three weeks, Watson has been making Stenavich sound prophetic while backing up the belief of general manager Brian Gutekunst, who traded two second-round picks to the Vikings to move up to take the small-school star with the big-league skill-set.

Watson’s sudden rise started with a 58-yard touchdown against Dallas.

“I think it was huge for me in a lot of ways,” Watson said. “I think it was the beginning of that sigh of relief for me of being able to go out there and get that first win out of the way, get some of that confidence back that was stale up to that point in terms of I wasn’t out there, I wasn’t able to do what I’d hoped to be doing. It was that fire-starter for me in terms of just getting that confidence back and being able to go out there and show myself and show everybody what I can be.”

Aaron Rodgers broke the Rookie of the Month news to Watson while in the weight room on Thursday morning. After missing three full games and significant chunks of four others due to injuries, Watson has stayed healthy and put on a show the last three weeks with 12 catches for 265 yards and six touchdowns.

Three games aren’t the same as 17 games, obviously, but it would project to a full-season pace of 68 receptions for 1,502 yards and 34 touchdowns. For a better gauge of production: Among all receivers with 30-plus targets this season, Watson ranks eighth with 2.45 yards per target. A who’s-who list of players is ahead of him; Adams is 10th with 2.44.

“I think the No. 1 thing for me is being thankful I’ve been able to stay consistent, health-wise,” Watson said. “Obviously, just being able to be out there and get that work in. That was always my No. 1 goal. Obviously, dealing with injuries, I needed to stay as healthy as possible. I always believed in myself. If I’m able to go out there and I’m able to play fast and be healthy, then everything else is going to come with it.”

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.

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