Christian Watson would add depth to the Packers’ WR room
The Green Bay Packers are going into their Week One matchup against the Minnesota Vikings not knowing who all of their wide receivers will be. The unit, which PFF has graded as the 31st in the league, has been under scrutiny lately with dropped passes in the preseason. On Sunday, the Packers could use their 2022 second-round draft pick, Christian Watson.
Watson sustained a knee injury in June. He was taken off the team’s PUP list in August. Even with Watson being off the PUP list, the North Dakota State standout didn’t play in any preseason game. That’s a potential concern for the Packers. Watson needed to get reps during the preseason. Packers fans are already anxious about Watson not getting on the field.
Per Zach Jacobson with CBS Sports, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has “hope” that Christian Watson plays Week One this Sunday. But the team is waiting to determine his status until later in the week.
“I think he still has a lot to learn and we’re trying to acclimate him as fast as humanly possible,” said LaFleur in the tweet by Jacobson.
Matt LaFleur said ‘the hope’ is that Christian Watson will play Sunday in Minnesota, but they’ll wait until the end of the week before making that call. “I think he still has a lot to learn and we’re trying to acclimate him as fast as humanly possible,” LaFleur says.
— zach jacobson (@itszacharyj) September 5, 2022
LaFleur’s answer is telling
That’s troubling to hear from the Packers head coach. Nothing from that statement indicates Watson is too injured to play Sunday. It appears that Watson is still trying to catch up to the NFL game. Hopefully, the Packers can get Watson up to a starting level soon. The Packers invested a high-round pick in Watson.
Taking a player from the FCS is always a gamble. Especially if you want the player to start right away. Watson put up decent numbers at NDSU, but he never faced the steep competition that Power 5 conference football players see in big games. Watson will have to learn the speed of the NFL. And quickly.
