Packers Christian Watson doing ‘outstanding job’ during offseason programs

The connection between Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Jordan Love and wide receiver Romeo Doubs has been evident this offseason, but we can’t forget about Christian Watson either.

In terms of catches or targets, Watson didn’t see as many opportunities as Doubs had during OTAs–or at least not in the practice sessions that were open to the media. However, what I have seen is a confident player who is running crisp routes, showing consistent hands, and frequently talking with, and presumably coaching up, his fellow receivers during drills. There is also that effortless, game-changing speed that Watson brings to the offense as well.

"“Certainly, you can feel his speed out there,” said Matt LaFleur last week. “Just where he is at, in terms of his knowledge of the offense, is night and day. He is a real leader in that room. He does an outstanding job.”"

During Tuesday’s minicamp practice, which was held indoors, Watson had the play of the day. In a 7-on-7 drill, he was lined up outwide to the left and ran a go-route down the sidelines. Love would hit Watson in stride, with the closest defender being Jaire Alexander, and he really wasn’t very close. Following that practice, when meeting with reporters, Alexander would say that Watson has really been “standing out” on the practice tape.

That was one of a few ‘wow’ plays that have taken place over the last few weeks, and immediately, we are reminded of the playmaking that Watson brings to this offense.

Watson’s emergence in Week 10 last season gave this stagnant Packers offense new life. Not only did his presence create big-play opportunities for himself, but his speed and the attention that he drew created better spacing on the field, with the defense unable to crowd the line of scrimmage as they often had early on that year, which led to more opportunities for other members of the offense as well.

Watson ran a lot of deep routes and crossers during his rookie season, but as Matt LaFleur said earlier this offseason during the NFL Owners’ Meeting, Watson’s route responsibilities are going to grow in 2023 as he will be asked to do more. With a playmaker like Watson, the Packers need to find as many ways as they can to get him the ball, and the more routes he can run, the more difficult he also becomes to defend. And, once again, the trickle-down effect of all of this is the opportunities that can be created for other pass catchers.

Along with running a greater variety of routes, we could see more of Watson from the slot, where he was a very efficient target last season, ranking 15th in yards per route run out of all slot receivers, according to PFF. Although the skill position players within the offense may be young, they are versatile, which will open up the playbook for LaFleur with the receivers, tight ends, and running backs each able to line up from a variety of alignments while also handling a number of responsibilities. LaFleur calls this the ‘illusion of complexity,’ and in short, it keeps the concepts simple for the offense while still being deceptive to the defense.

Like Doubs, who said that he is playing faster in Year 2, in large part because of his comfortability with the playbook, Watson, according to LaFleur, is having a similar experience. This is often the jumping-off point that we see for many successful NFL players who make that second-year leap, and it’s a must for Watson if the Packers offense is going to find consistent success in 2023.