Green Bay Packers WR Christian Watson has missed the entire 2023 season so far with a hamstring injury. Is it likely Watson will play today? Watson is arguably the No. 1 target for the Packers. However, if he doesn’t get on the field, he will struggle to establish a rapport and connection with new Packers QB Jordan Love.
Therefore, are fantasy managers going to see Watson today? And, if so, what is his fantasy outlook versus the New Orleans Saints?
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Editor’s Note: Christian Watson is inactive for the Packers’ Week 3 game.
Is Christian Watson Going To Play Week 3?
Watson goes into today’s game vs. the Saints as questionable. He managed to log practices on Wednesday and Friday in a limited capacity. However, he did miss practice on Thursday.
It seems Thursday’s missed practice was planned. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said, “He ran two days in a row and gave him a day of rest, and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
With no other update provided to the media at the time of writing, it appears Watson is going to be a game-time decision, depending on how he feels with his hamstring injury.
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So, what does this mean for his fantasy outlook versus the Saints today? Let’s take a look.
What Does This Mean for Watson’s Fantasy Outlook?
Since Watson is a game-time decision, fantasy managers should be cautious with their outlook for this week. Watson has not played a single snap in the NFL so far this season. Therefore, it is unlikely he will return to a full role today if he manages to play.
The PFN Consensus Rankings currently have Watson as WR56. There is not a lot of confidence that Watson will get a full role upon his return due to the nature of his injury.
Last week, rookie wide receiver Jayden Reed seemed to be the one the offense was forcing targets to. Despite only running routes 67% of the time, Reed was targeted eight times, which led the team versus the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2. This means he was targeted 44% of the time he ran routes, which is incredibly high.
I would expect Reed to be the leading target again this week, especially considering the role he played last week. I would also expect Luke Musgrave to take a larger role in supporting the receivers this week, as he led the team in percentage of routes run (81% in Week 2).
If, and it is a big if, Watson returns today, I would be comfortable sitting him. While the Packers are in the early slate of games, there are just too many fantasy options with better outlooks and opportunities than Watson this week. Fantasy managers should be prepared to sit Watson as the risk of him scoring zero (or very few points) is far greater than him scoring 15 or 20 PPR points.
While it might be annoying should Watson assume the lead role straight away and put up a huge points total and fantasy managers have him on the bench, I think the chances of a huge total are very unlikely.
Love has only thrown the ball 52 times this season. That’s two more than Desmond Ridder of the Falcons. Love does have six touchdowns to his name. However, that makes his touchdown rate an incredible 11.5%. Even if you halved that total, it would be an incredible return. The Packers’ offense will not continue to be this efficient. Do not get trapped by the touchdowns and points scored so far. It only has one way to go, and that’s down.
I expect the Packers’ offense to regress this week against the Saints. Therefore, don’t risk Watson. Fantasy managers should sit Watson and start any other wide receiver on their bench, within reason.