Packers 2023 UDFA Profile: Tulane WR Duece Watts

Moving along in my review of the Green Bay Packers 2023 undrafted rookie class, up next is Tulane wide receiver Duece Watts.

In this series, I have been looking at the current state of each UDFA’s respective position group, along with diving into the stats you need to know from their college careers. I’ll also be taking a look at their measurements and then a pre-draft scouting report for added insight.

If you’ve missed any of the other articles in this series, you can find them below.

Brenton Cox

Benny Sapp

Jimmy Phillips

Kadeem Telfort

Jason Lewan

Chuck Filiaga

Current state of the wide receiver position

On the roster: Jadakis Bonds, Jeff Cotton, Romeo Doubs, Grant DuBose, Malik Heath, Bo Melton, Samori Toure, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Duece Watts, and Dontayvion Wicks

The current state of the Packers wide receiver room, you ask? Well, it’s young and inexperienced. In terms of time in the NFL, Jeff Cotton, a 2020 UDFA, has been in the league the longest, but he has no regular season snaps on offense. Everyone else on the roster was either drafted or signed as an undrafted rookie within the last two offseasons. From a playing time standpoint, Romeo Doubs is the most experienced, with 529 career snaps. Both he and Christian Watson, and to a degree, Samori Toure, are now the leaders within this position group.

Although neither Matt LaFleur nor Brian Gutekunst completely closed the door on adding a veteran to the mix, at least for the time being, they are going to give these young receivers every opportunity to earn playing time and/or a roster spot. This approach is a balancing act for the Packers. On the one hand, weathering the storm that comes with relying heavily on young pass-catchers, hopefully, expedites the learning curve for them and helps build rapport and chemistry with Jordan Love. With that said, Green Bay needs to make sure they put enough weapons around Love for him to find success in his first year as a starter, and with this much inexperience, it’s going to be a bit of a roller coaster ride.

Typically, the Packers roster either five or six receivers on the 53-man. With Green Bay often preferring to roster their own draft picks, the six receivers they’ve drafted over the last two offseasons, Watson, Doubs, Toure, Jayden Reed, Grant DuBose, and Dontayvion Wicks, are who I would guess is going to make up this position group this season. This means that the likely ceiling for Watts in 2023 is as a practice squad player.

Stats to know

Watts was a consistent target in the Tulane offense for the last three seasons, totaling between 47 and 56 targets during that span. In total, he caught 80 of his 155 career targets, hauling in 52% of them at 16.0 yards per catch with 16 touchdowns. He spent the bulk of his time lined up on the boundary and was often targeted downfield this past season. His average depth of target in 2022 was 17.1 yards, which ranked 17th among all wide receivers, according to PFF. Of his 47 total targets last season, over one-third of them came 20 or more yards downfield.

Watts was not only utilized downfield, however, during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, specifically, he made an impact in all areas of the field. His initial burst at the line of scrimmage, along with his route-running abilities, allowed him to create space between him and the defender. Drops were an issue for him at times as well throughout his career.

Measurements

6’1″ | 196 | RAS: 7.00

Watts is very close to the usual 6’0″ – 200 pound thresholds that the Packers typically prefer at the receiver position. He brings some strength to the position, posting 17 bench press reps, and tested very well in the vertical and broad jumps. However, what brought his Relative Athletic Score down was his 4.59 second 40 time – although he had an elite 10-yard split of 1.47 seconds – and “poor” agility scores.

Pre-draft scouting report

"“Strengths: Athletic receiver with next-level measurables who flashes ability. Has nice length, long arms, and big hands. Follows the QB across the field, lays out or extends to come away with the difficult grab, and uses his frame to shield away defenders.“Tracks the pass in the air, competes to come away with the catch, then keeps the play in bounds to pick up positive yardage. Comes back to the ball out of routes, extends his hands, and snatches the ball away from his frame. Displays quick, strong hands. Solid route runner who separates from defenders out of breaks.“Weaknesses: Never turned in outstanding production for Tulane. Plays to one speed despite his 40 time. Does not always come away with the difficult reception.“Overall: Watts possesses the physical skills and measurables to be a No. 2 wideout on paper, and he shows that ability occasionally. However, he’s been very streaky in college and never elevated his game. Watts comes with tremendous upside and could surprise people if he puts it all together in camp. Or he’ll end up a player who bounces from franchise to franchise and never sees the field.” – Tony Pauline, Pro Football Network"