The Green Bay Packers made moves this offseason to bolster the offensive side of the ball and give Jordan Love more options in the passing game.
After years of passing on selecting skill position players on offense in the first round of the draft, Brian Gutekunst and the Packers' front office changed course this April. They used two of their first three picks on wide receivers, with their second-round selection being an offensive tackle. Needless to say, Green Bay entered the draft with the team's offense on its mind.
With those two in the fold, the next domino to fall for the Packers' offense is the return of veteran wideout Christian Watson. It appears that it could be coming sooner rather than later, which isn't great news for some of the receivers further down the depth chart.
Packers WRs on Notice After Christian Watson's Latest Injury Update
The timing of Watson's ACL injury last season couldn't have been worse, as he tore the ligament in Green Bay's regular season finale against the Chicago Bears. A torn ACL takes time to recover from, even with all the advances made in that area by doctors.
Christian Watson just posted this on his Instagram story. He’s running routes, cutting and hitting pretty close to full speed. pic.twitter.com/ZSLQwbuUzV
— zach jacobson (@zacobson) June 20, 2025
Fortunately, his rehab appears to be going as well as any fan could have asked, as he provided the Packers faithful with a glimpse of his progress in an Instagram story published on Friday. As you can see from the clip below, Watson is out on the field again and going through route-running drills without any issues.
It is an encouraging sign to see the organization's top receiving option attacking his rehab in such a manner. However, it does not guarantee that Watson will be ready to roll in Week 1. We will have to wait and see just how cautious Green Bay is with easing him back to action this fall.
What Watson's progress does guarantee, though, is that the pressure is on the receivers further down the depth chart to show their worth every chance they get so that they can impress Gutekunst and head coach Matt LeFleur enough to secure a spot on this final roster.
Players like Mecole Hardman, Bo Melton, and Malik Heath are going to need to show that they provide something that Green Bay won't be able to live without this season if they want to make this roster.
So far, Hardman has been quite impressive by all accounts, while Melton has been doing his best to show he can be relied upon as a two-way player. We haven't heard as much about Heath, which isn't ideal for his chances of making the team.
One way or another, Watson's return is going to put pressure on these three in particular to put their best foot forward once training camp kicks off. Cuts will be coming sooner rather than later, and the Packers can only keep so many wide receivers on the 53-man roster.