Many say the Green Bay Packers don’t have a true number one wide receiver on the roster. Christian Watson would beg to differ. When healthy, Watson has the ability to be one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. His speed and athleticism is unmatched at times and defenses are left helpless.
Getting Watson back at full strength for this season will be a top priority for the offense. Having him out there takes the offense to a completely new level. Recently, Watson’s father highlighted a major aspect of Watson’s return.
Christian Watson’s Father Gives Major Update On The Green Bay Packers’ Electric Wide Receiver
According to Tazim Wajid Wajed (Twitter handle):
SO, LET’S CLARIFY FOR THE FOLKS WHO HAVE READING AND COMPREHENSION PROBLEMS, AND WANT TO MAKE JOKES: Christian’s Right Hamstring WAS NOT 20% smaller than his Left… It was 20% weaker, causing asymmetrical strain on the muscle, resulting in injury.
This is most susceptible in deceleration during a sprint. Ideally the symmetry needs to be under 10% difference… So, obviously 20+ percent is not going to hold up for a professional athlete with Scoot’s level of explosive torque! The point is that he’s addressing the asymmetry separate from merely the training regimen used to get all the players ready.
The issue was never poor training… It was incomplete rehab from prior injuries that had him back on the field without considering that though the prior lower-body injury healed, the muscles of an extraordinarily explosive athlete weren’t yet fully back to the safe operational symmetry that existed BEFORE the contributory, but completely different injury/operation took place!
CHRISTIAN. WATSON. 58 YARDS. REDEMPTION. TOUCHDOWN. BACKFLIP. WOW. #GOPACKGO pic.twitter.com/JXcgYm1mSS
— 𝐽𝐸𝑁 𝑀𝐴𝐶𝐾 🧀 (@BigMack_4) November 13, 2022
It Sounds Like Watson Is On Track To Being 100% In 2024
Following the 2023 season, Watson met with specialists from Badger Athletic Performance in Madison with cornerback Eric Stokes and members of the Packers’ training staff.
In July 2021, the NFL Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) awarded the UW-Madison medical researchers a $4 million grant to research hamstring injuries in elite football players.
As part of the effort to alleviate the hamstring issues that hampered them last season, Watson and Stokes went through a battery of tests and body scans. The lasting benefits of that trip are numerous, but Watson felt one of the most important lessons he learned was how symmetry of strength between his two legs could lead to injury:
“Obviously when you’re trying to be equal in power, it obviously puts a lot more stress on the one that’s not as strong,” Watson said. “That’s been the No. 1 thing for me because that leads to fatigue, as well. It’s a bad place to be, so obviously that’s been my No. 1 goal to just kind of eliminate that. ”
One resource that’s been particularly helpful to Watson is a NordBord, which is used to measure hamstring strength and imbalance in a range of positions and exercises.
The device locks around the individual’s ankles and data is collected with athlete falling forward in a push-up position. Perfect symmetry would be zero, though that’s virtually impossible to achieve. Watson said he “was around 20-something percent (off)” and “now I’m probably like 10 to 12 percent better than that.” His goal is to get within 6% symmetry.
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