Packers biggest mid-season need: Christian Watson has to elevate his game
The most important addition for the Green Bay Packers at this point in the season, after eight games, would be a true wide receiver one. That would help elevate Jordan Love's game, it would alleviate the pressure over the offensive line, and it would give more time for the young passing options to develop. But […]
The most important addition for the Green Bay Packers at this point in the season, after eight games, would be a true wide receiver one. That would help elevate Jordan Love's game, it would alleviate the pressure over the offensive line, and it would give more time for the young passing options to develop. But it's unrealistic to get such a player in November.
The trade deadline has passed, and the best option in free agency is probably Kenny Golladay — he might be a decent help, but certainly wouldn't qualify as the type of player needed.
So there's only one option left in 2023: try to find ways to utilize Christian Watson as the true WR1, hoping that he can be as productive as he was in 2022, but with more volume.
Last year, during his rookie season, Watson didn't start fast either — injuries and drops prevented a good performance. But he took off in week 9, against the Dallas Cowboys, and was one the most prolific and efficient wide receivers in the entire NFL during the second half of the season. The Packers need a similar jump this year.
In 2023, the narrative to start the season was similar. At first, a hamstring injury made him miss three games. When he came back, maybe because the coaching staff was trying to prevent new soft-tissue issues or because his connection with Jordan Love hasn't been great, Watson's efficiency has decreased significantly.
His target rate went down from 25.5% to 20.9%, his average depth of target went from 15.5 to 13.8, his yards after the catch per target went from 4.4 to 3.2, his yards per route run went from 2.40 to 1.53.
Christian Watson still leads the Packers in receiving yards per game (42.6), but it's a marginal difference compared to the other Green Bay starting wide receivers, Jayden Reed (41.6) and Romeo Doubs (39.0).
Before the season, there was a real and justifiable expectation that Christian Watson would have a year 2 jump to become a top weapon.
"Just seems like a much more confident player. I think we saw that take shape last year, halfway through the season. Any time you're a young player and you miss all of training camp essentially, that's tough, difficult," Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said back in July. "Him being healthy, he had a really good offseason, and just his knowledge of our offense. He's one of the most intelligent players I've ever been around, especially at the wide receiver position."
But the expectations haven't come to fruition yet. And if the Packers have any chance of becoming a good offense before the end of the season, Christian Watson has to be a focal point of the passing attack, and to have any sort of consistency doing so.
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