Christian Watson never got the chance to experience the NFL playoffs his rookie season, as his Green Bay Packers were knocked out of contention in Week 18.
Now, with the Packers back in the postseason, the second-year wideout could be missing his first taste of the playoffs on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
Latest Surrounding Christian Watson Ahead of Packers vs. Cowboys
Update 01/14/2024: Christian Watson is officially active against the Dallas Cowboys.
The towering 6’4″ wide receiver has been listed as questionable for his Wild Card contest at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The franchise announced their injury designation for him on Friday.
Watson has been dealing with a hamstring ailment. He hasn’t caught passes for Jordan Love and the Packers’ offense since sustaining that ailment in the Dec. 3 home win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
However, despite his “questionable” status, head coach Matt LaFleur isn’t officially ruling out Watson just yet when speaking with reporters Friday.
“We’ll see on Christian,” LaFleur said to the media. “A lot of it is going to be how he feels and where we’re at with him.”
What Kind of Season Was Watson Having Before His Injury?
Watson was showing signs of bettering his rookie totals.
The second-round selection out of Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) power North Dakota State settled for 28 catches for 422 yards and five touchdowns through nine games played before his injury.
That meant he averaged 3.1 receptions per game — which was already an improvement over his 2.9 catches per contest his first season. In addition to elevating his yards per catch stat line, Watson was averaging 15.1 yards per reception. That was another spike from the 14.9 he averaged in ’22.
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He also showed up in two of the biggest contests that impacted the Packers’ playoff hopes:
- Watson snatched seven catches for 71 yards and scored twice against the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 3, which evened the Packers’ record to 6-6 by beating the defending Super Bowl champs 27-19 in Lambeau.
- The previous week, Watson snatched five passes for a season-high 94 yards on Thanksgiving in Detroit. That effort guided the Pack to the 29-22 road upset of the NFC North division winners.
But unfortunately for Watson, the Chiefs game became his last official appearance in a live football game. Had he stayed healthy, Watson would’ve gone past the 50-reception mark for the Packers.
Who Ended Up Leading the Packers WRs?
With Watson not fully healthy, did the Packers’ air attack struggle?
Turns out the Pack were just fine without their most towering and explosive option. Green Bay finished 12th in total passing yards and third overall in touchdown passes.
And outside of Watson, Love discovered a new dynamic pairing.
Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs became the end-zone threats for G.B. Reed led the Packers with 64 catches and crossed the end zone eight times. Doubs, meanwhile, matched the same number of touchdowns and ended the season with 59 receptions.
Then there was Dontayvion Wicks, who became the third field-stretching option for Love and Co. He averaged 14.9 yards per game and caught four touchdown passes.
With the possibility of Watson not being healthy, Love will likely have to turn to these three aforementioned targets heavily against a stacked Cowboys defense. A healthy Watson, though, only makes this Packers WR unit more explosive in this Wild Card battle.
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