Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson is going through a sophomore slump after having a pretty good rookie season. Watson has only caught 11 passes for 176 yards receiving and one touchdown. He is averaging 16.0 yards per reception this season in four games played.
Christian Watson has dealt with hamstring issues that caused him to miss the first three games of the 2023 regular season, and Green Bay went 2-1 in that stretch. When he returned to the field, the Green Bay Packers had lost the last four consecutive games, and they are looking to avoid it, making it five straight losses against the 3-5 Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at home.
There is an alarming stat for Watson in this season’s offense. According to Zack Kruse on Twitter, this is what the passer rating is when targeting him. In 2022, the passer rating is 123.3, which is ranked third out of 103 wide receivers. In 2023, quarterbacks have a 45.1 passer rating when targeting him, ranking 97 out of 100 in wide receivers.
The Green Bay Packers Did Have Aaron Rodgers last season and Jordan Love This Season, But Love Was Fine Without Watson
It helped when the Packers had Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback last season, but there was a game where Watson performed well when Jordan Love came into the game in relief against the Philadelphia Eagles, and it appeared as if they were gaining chemistry together.
This season has been totally different. Here is a stat for the Packers offense that is also very alarming. In the games where Watson missed, Jordan Love has thrown for seven touchdowns in three games. In the games where Watson has played, Love has only thrown for four touchdowns in four games.
In the three games Christian Watson missed, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, and Romeo Doubs were the top wide receivers. Doubs was the top wide receiver in the games Watson missed. There is no excuse for Jordan Love’s struggles lately, but the chemistry between a quarterback and wide receiver matters. Would the offense actually be better without Watson moving forward? Possibly. This is a similar situation to when Davante Adams continued to drop passes in the second NFL season with the Green Bay Packers.
