What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

WR Christian Watson, GB (2 Viewers)

Packers beat reporter Tom Silverstein reports Packers WR Christian Watson (knee) participated in warmups ahead of Friday's preseason game against the Saints.​

Watson isn't expected to play in this game, but it's an encouraging sign for the rookie who just came off the PUP list on Sunday. The 2022 second-round pick has a lot to catch up on after missing the last several weeks while recovering from knee surgery, but he should see opportunities to contribute at some point this season. He'll also have to overcome the training camp hype for Romeo Doubs, who seems to have stolen the hearts of fantasy managers over the last several weeks. Watson brings tremendous size and athleticism to the wide receiver position but is nothing more than a bench stash in redraft leagues at this time.
SOURCE: Tom Silverstein on Twitter
Aug 19, 2022, 7:38 PM ET
 
Drafted him in the 13th Rd and that was the last of 6 WRs I took. I don't see Cobb and Watkins as major road blocks to playing time.

-A couple days back Rodgers was very passionate about his veteran WRs and they should be out there with him. Now we are hearing praise for Watson who hasn't been around as much missing a good chunk of camp with an injury.

-I don't know that much about Watson other than he was drafted #34 overall and they traded the #1 WR in the NFL to the Raiders leaving a massive pair of shoes to fill. He has a HoF QB that still can throw the football and there's a lot of targets to go around.

I believe he was worth the risk in the double digit rounds.
 
Drafted him in the 13th Rd and that was the last of 6 WRs I took. I don't see Cobb and Watkins as major road blocks to playing time.

-A couple days back Rodgers was very passionate about his veteran WRs and they should be out there with him. Now we are hearing praise for Watson who hasn't been around as much missing a good chunk of camp with an injury.

-I don't know that much about Watson other than he was drafted #34 overall and they traded the #1 WR in the NFL to the Raiders leaving a massive pair of shoes to fill. He has a HoF QB that still can throw the football and there's a lot of targets to go around.

I believe he was worth the risk in the double digit rounds.
Same here (y)
 
It's amazing to me but all Packers WRs went undrafted in my league last week.

Does anyone still love Doubs? Or has Watson risen to the top?
 
I keep thinking about Pickens in Pittsburgh. Dude has had incredible reports and highlights coming out of Pittsburgh since TC. But, he's got at least three, if not four legit targets to contend with for targets, it's a run first team with a lesser QB and O-line. He may be a supreme talent but his path to relevance in 2022 is murky at best.

Then I see Watson, who has been gimpy all TC and we don't know much about him other than his draft capital. But he has very little by way of competition for targets from one of the best QBs in the history of the league. His pathway to relevance in 2022 is very clear.

Same can be said for Doubs, and he had great reports coming out early in camp, although those tapered off a bit IIRC.

One of these guys could be a Kingmaker this year.

Is that completely insane?

If not, which one?
 
I keep thinking about Pickens in Pittsburgh. Dude has had incredible reports and highlights coming out of Pittsburgh since TC. But, he's got at least three, if not four legit targets to contend with for targets, it's a run first team with a lesser QB and O-line. He may be a supreme talent but his path to relevance in 2022 is murky at best.

Then I see Watson, who has been gimpy all TC and we don't know much about him other than his draft capital. But he has very little by way of competition for targets from one of the best QBs in the history of the league. His pathway to relevance in 2022 is very clear.

Same can be said for Doubs, and he had great reports coming out early in camp, although those tapered off a bit IIRC.

One of these guys could be a Kingmaker this year.

Is that completely insane?

If not, which one?
Good question -- I kept snagging young WR's at end of draft so in addition to Watson, got Pickens and London -- hoping at least one hits
 
We might get an early reveal if Lazard happens to miss Sunday.


@TomSilverstein‬
LaFleur said that he's hopeful rookie WR Christian Watson will play Sunday. He was non-committal with WR Allen Lazard, who was sidelined last week for undisclosed reasons.

9/5/22, 12:22 PM
 
I keep thinking about Pickens in Pittsburgh. Dude has had incredible reports and highlights coming out of Pittsburgh since TC. But, he's got at least three, if not four legit targets to contend with for targets, it's a run first team with a lesser QB and O-line. He may be a supreme talent but his path to relevance in 2022 is murky at best.

Then I see Watson, who has been gimpy all TC and we don't know much about him other than his draft capital. But he has very little by way of competition for targets from one of the best QBs in the history of the league. His pathway to relevance in 2022 is very clear.

Same can be said for Doubs, and he had great reports coming out early in camp, although those tapered off a bit IIRC.

One of these guys could be a Kingmaker this year.

Is that completely insane?

If not, which one?
Good question. I took a flier on Pickens in the 14th round of a redraft, and this thread has me seriously considering dropping a #2 TE I took in the 15th round to pick up undrafted Watson. Only reason I took TE was I typically draft a #2 for 'earliest bye' among TE/DST/K - planning to treat that as the pre-determined roster slot to cover byes for all 3 of those positions. However, it may be more savvy to hold Watson for 5 weeks than have TE bye figured out. I could always dump Watson at that point if his use suggests he's essentially a redshirt.

ETA Screw it, I just put in the $1 bid.
 
Last edited:
Lizard King officially doubtful. How many snaps can we expect? Doubs still has rep advantage with Aaron, though Watson should catch up quick.
 
Lizard King officially doubtful. How many snaps can we expect? Doubs still has rep advantage with Aaron, though Watson should catch up quick.
Watson just shed his Q designation while I agree that he should catch up, do we really think that happens in week one?

Watkins is probably the smart play, he's been lunch-pailing all off-season and no one has said boo. That's probably a good sign, but I'm not going to pick him up or start him, and I doubt anyone else is either.

Doubs>Watson this week IMO.
 
Lizard King officially doubtful. How many snaps can we expect? Doubs still has rep advantage with Aaron, though Watson should catch up quick.
Watson just shed his Q designation while I agree that he should catch up, do we really think that happens in week one?

Watkins is probably the smart play, he's been lunch-pailing all off-season and no one has said boo. That's probably a good sign, but I'm not going to pick him up or start him, and I doubt anyone else is either.

Doubs>Watson this week IMO.

Watkins would be about the only one Id take a flier on this week (maybe Tonyan if at least one of the tackles suits up...and a team waited on a TE).
Going to take a bit for Watson and Doubs to earn that trust from Rodgers on a game day.
 
Watkins would be about the only one Id take a flier on this week (maybe Tonyan if at least one of the tackles suits up...and a team waited on a TE).
Going to take a bit for Watson and Doubs to earn that trust from Rodgers on a game day.
I agree with you about Doubs and Watson. I will have to see it on the field before I trust them in my lineup. It is also very difficult to have much confidence in Watkins. He could have a big week, or he could pull up lame on the first play. It depends on my other options, but I am probably leaving all of the Packers receivers on my bench for now.
 
Watkins would be about the only one Id take a flier on this week (maybe Tonyan if at least one of the tackles suits up...and a team waited on a TE).
Going to take a bit for Watson and Doubs to earn that trust from Rodgers on a game day.
I agree with you about Doubs and Watson. I will have to see it on the field before I trust them in my lineup. It is also very difficult to have much confidence in Watkins. He could have a big week, or he could pull up lame on the first play. It depends on my other options, but I am probably leaving all of the Packers receivers on my bench for now.
Sure...Watkins is that risk. But he typically has some big game early in a year to get everyone excited before he pulls up lame.
 
Watkins would be about the only one Id take a flier on this week (maybe Tonyan if at least one of the tackles suits up...and a team waited on a TE).
Going to take a bit for Watson and Doubs to earn that trust from Rodgers on a game day.
I agree with you about Doubs and Watson. I will have to see it on the field before I trust them in my lineup. It is also very difficult to have much confidence in Watkins. He could have a big week, or he could pull up lame on the first play. It depends on my other options, but I am probably leaving all of the Packers receivers on my bench for now.
Sure...Watkins is that risk. But he typically has some big game early in a year to get everyone excited before he pulls up lame.
Has Watkins had any time with Rodgers to build any chemistry? I thought they only had a few days together.... while Doubs had a few weeks ... Watson a day or 3?
Maybe I am wrong, but I thought he missed most of early camp???

I expect Dillon & Jones to control the game.... no WR worth a start.
 
Watkins would be about the only one Id take a flier on this week (maybe Tonyan if at least one of the tackles suits up...and a team waited on a TE).
Going to take a bit for Watson and Doubs to earn that trust from Rodgers on a game day.
I agree with you about Doubs and Watson. I will have to see it on the field before I trust them in my lineup. It is also very difficult to have much confidence in Watkins. He could have a big week, or he could pull up lame on the first play. It depends on my other options, but I am probably leaving all of the Packers receivers on my bench for now.
Sure...Watkins is that risk. But he typically has some big game early in a year to get everyone excited before he pulls up lame.
Has Watkins had any time with Rodgers to build any chemistry? I thought they only had a few days together.... while Doubs had a few weeks ... Watson a day or 3?
Maybe I am wrong, but I thought he missed most of early camp???

I expect Dillon & Jones to control the game.... no WR worth a start.
Yeah, he missed all but the last handful of days of camp.

I did read though that even when he's been out, he's really been picking Rodger's brain. So even though they have some on-field stuff to get working on, he knows what's going on the mental side, why he's supposed to be where when, etc. And Rodgers had been responding to that kind of thing really positively.

So with that, I'm hopeful he's not as much behind as one would probably expect given the time missed.

Either way I agree that for probably the first month even, probably not any startable WRs here unless desperate.
 
Watkins would be about the only one Id take a flier on this week (maybe Tonyan if at least one of the tackles suits up...and a team waited on a TE).
Going to take a bit for Watson and Doubs to earn that trust from Rodgers on a game day.
I agree with you about Doubs and Watson. I will have to see it on the field before I trust them in my lineup. It is also very difficult to have much confidence in Watkins. He could have a big week, or he could pull up lame on the first play. It depends on my other options, but I am probably leaving all of the Packers receivers on my bench for now.
Sure...Watkins is that risk. But he typically has some big game early in a year to get everyone excited before he pulls up lame.
Has Watkins had any time with Rodgers to build any chemistry? I thought they only had a few days together.... while Doubs had a few weeks ... Watson a day or 3?
Maybe I am wrong, but I thought he missed most of early camp???

I expect Dillon & Jones to control the game.... no WR worth a start.
Perhaps and then it's Aaron Rodgers, atypical. He's not exactly a dink and dunk QB either. Sure plenty of balls to the RB's like 10-12 total receptions. That still leaves room for TE or Rodgers chucking it to whomever he sees open. Then it's catch and run. Someone of the 4 pass catchers besides the RB's will have a good game, maybe 2 of them. It's a little risky and dicey, then it's Aaron Rodgers.

Let's not forget that MIN has weapons galore too. Cousins is very serviceable to throw multiple scores.

Most logical answer is Jones and Dillon both. I'm starting Dillon in one league and perhaps Sammy Watkins at WR #3 in another league with Godwin either out or pitch count, unless I hear more positive news. Because of the SNF game he likely sits this week. George Pickens was another option. Then it's Rodgers vs. Trubisky that swung the deal. Don't get me wrong, I've taken the Sammy Watkins bait too many times vowing I am done. I have also seen him score 2 and sometimes 3 TD's in a game, then disappear.

I admit the possibility that even Christian Watson could emerge and become a big waiver wire pick up in week 2. One deep ball and score will do that trick.
 
Watkins would be about the only one Id take a flier on this week (maybe Tonyan if at least one of the tackles suits up...and a team waited on a TE).
Going to take a bit for Watson and Doubs to earn that trust from Rodgers on a game day.
I agree with you about Doubs and Watson. I will have to see it on the field before I trust them in my lineup. It is also very difficult to have much confidence in Watkins. He could have a big week, or he could pull up lame on the first play. It depends on my other options, but I am probably leaving all of the Packers receivers on my bench for now.
Sure...Watkins is that risk. But he typically has some big game early in a year to get everyone excited before he pulls up lame.
Has Watkins had any time with Rodgers to build any chemistry? I thought they only had a few days together.... while Doubs had a few weeks ... Watson a day or 3?
Maybe I am wrong, but I thought he missed most of early camp???

I expect Dillon & Jones to control the game.... no WR worth a start.
Yeah...Watkins missed early parts of camp. But not sure how much chemistry either have. Im tempering rookie production til later in the year based on Rodgers history with young WRs and his own words recently (trying to find exact quotes...its mostly stuff I heard on ESPN Wisconsin radio).

Even with less time...IMO...he may feel Watkins knows how to react to coverages vs. how the rookies will react.
 
Sure...Watkins is that risk. But he typically has some big game early in a year to get everyone excited before he pulls up lame
Hmmm... thought this was a joke but week one:

2021- 4-96-0
2020 - 7-82-1
2019 - 9-198-3

Trending in the wrong direction but still.
 
Sure...Watkins is that risk. But he typically has some big game early in a year to get everyone excited before he pulls up lame
Hmmm... thought this was a joke but week one:

2021- 4-96-0
2020 - 7-82-1
2019 - 9-198-3

Trending in the wrong direction but still.
I just recall he tends to catch my watch list week one when i wait on wrs
Apparently the shark play is to play him week one then try and trade him for a bag of Fritos and half a can of flat Mountain Dew.
 
Wide open for six on a quick little move and he dropped the bomb.

Ooooof.

This looks like the prediction for this kid's career in a nut shell and microcosm of a play. Wide open for a seventy-five yard touchdown, and drops it.
 
Wide open for six on a quick little move and he dropped the bomb.

Ooooof.

This looks like the prediction for this kid's career in a nut shell and microcosm of a play. Wide open for a seventy-five yard touchdown, and drops it.
I had to drop him earlier this week and as soon as I saw the Red Zone flip to it, I thought “oh great” then “thanks”.
What a whirlwind of emotions in 2 seconds - I’m exhausted.
 
Ryan Wood @ByRyanWood

#Packers rookie Christian Watson on his dropped TD: "I just know it's a play I'm going to make 99 times out of 100. I would have said 100 out of 100 if it wasn't for today. It's a play I know I can make. Going forward, I'm going to make that play every single time."


Aaron Rodgers on opening play to #Packers rookie: "Christian Watson: "We talked about it during the week, 'Do you really want to start off with a bomb shot?' I said, 'What the hell. Yeah, why not. This kid can really fly.'"

Rodgers said Watson ran a "great route" on the play.
 

Christian Watson caught 2-of-4 targets for 34 yards in the Packers' Week 1 loss to the Vikings.


Watson added a carry for seven yards. The day started off with a nightmare for the rookie. Streaking wide open down the sidelined, he dropped what would have been a 75-yard touchdown on a well-placed ball from Aaron Rodgers. Watson rotated in and out of the lineup for the remainder of the day. Most of his production came from a 20-yard catch on the final play of the game. Green Bay had already conceded and subbed out Rodgers at this point. Watson is worth holding in all formats, though he can be kept on the bench for Week 2.
- NBCSportsEDGE
 
I thought about cutting him for a veteran WR on the waiver wire but I like what I saw despite the drop.
Rodgers obviously throw to him when he wants to stretch the field.
I don't see Watson being a guy that catches a lot of balls each week like previous WRs in Green Bay
If he catches that TD, it's like 3/100/TD, didn't see that kind of explosive ability from other positions o the field.

It's tempting to release him but he is my WR6 and I promise you he won't be able to get much higher than WR5 on my bench because I'm stacked but that's why I drafted him. I didn't think a possession WR would look very good behind Kupp-Adams-AJB-Kirk-E.Moore...Watson makes a sweet 6 at the end of the bench.
My plan is to play him in 4-5 weeks when Bye weeks start and every week for a month I have to start someone off the bench and I thought Watson by that point will have some time to adjust to the NFL. I don't think Lazard, Watkins or Cobb can do anything I've seen Christian Watson do stretching the Defense.

The drop was terrible but also showed how explosive this kid can be.
 
Last edited:
MoP, that was the longest and almost most roundabout humblebrag in the history of bragging.

I'll tell you what, though. I agree with your assessment. Now, I roster this guy in dynasty so I'm biased, but he got open so easily and with such speed last week that even though he dropped it, Rodgers made sure to reiterate that the "kid can fly."

Now he has to run intermediate routes and hold on to the football when it comes his way.

What this means for redraft I don't know. What it means that he's your WR6, I don't know. (And how did you wind up Kupp-D. Adams-AJB-Kirk-E Moore? Did your leaguemates not show up to draft?) But regardless, the future looks (I hope) bright for this kid and I hope his confidence isn't ruined by one play. That and I hope the confidence of teammates in him isn't ruined by one play, also. That can happen with quarterbacks. So we'll see. Lazard likely comes back this weekend, but I still think it's a big week for Watson's redraft endeavors. We'll see snap breakdowns, usage, everything. I'm not too sanguine about those things, as I think Doubs will pull duties greater than Watson, but one never knows.

Al Davis would love this kid. The speed still kills.
 
I thought about cutting him for a veteran WR on the waiver wire but I like what I saw despite the drop.
Rodgers obviously throw to him when he wants to stretch the field.
I don't see Watson being a guy that catches a lot of balls each week like previous WRs in Green Bay
If he catches that TD, it's like 3/100/TD, didn't see that kind of explosive ability from other positions o the field.

It's tempting to release him but he is my WR6 and I promise you he won't be able to get much higher than WR5 on my bench because I'm stacked but that's why I drafted him. I didn't think a possession WR would look very good behind Kupp-Adams-AJB-Kirk-E.Moore...Watson makes a sweet 6 at the end of the bench.
My plan is to play him in 4-5 weeks when Bye weeks start and every week for a month I have to start someone off the bench and I thought Watson by that point will have some time to adjust to the NFL. I don't think Lazard, Watson or Cobb can do anything I've seen Christian Watson do stretching the Defense.

The drop was terrible but also showed how explosive this kid can be.
I'm more interested in knowing which veteran WR you might cut him for than where he sits as WR-X on your roster. That will clue me in a little bit on what you think his value is.

Now where I think you and others are making a potential mistake, and something I am struggling with determining myself, is how to value his upside. I'm not sure there is another receiver with as much upside on most waiver wires. Potential giant delta. I don't think Lazard is a 1, the Packers may need to play from behind more than usual and throw a lot, Rodgers speaks highly of his talent (hard to assess how true this is), Watson appears to have game-breaking speed, I don't see massive competition from others, including Doubs, Watson hasn't had much field time with Aaron and he still was close to coming out as the top guy last week, Aaron is a HOF QB and NOT Trubisky (i.e., Pickens vs. Watson situation), etc.

I keep thinking the upside delta is giant here and given that, you want him on your roster now and particularly the week before he hits. You don't want to try to pay for him the week after. If he makes that catch last week, this thread has a very different tone. I know, he didn't make the catch...but that might be good fortune for some of us. He will make that catch this year at some point.

In his third game as a Packer, Greg Jennings caught 3 balls for 101 yards and a 75 yard TD. That looks a lot like what last week might have been. Jennings went on to 45 catches on 104 targets, 632 yards and 3 TDs in 14 games. Not bad, not great. Driver was the clear 1, Jennings the 2. I expect Watson will do better than that this year.
 
I thought about cutting him for a veteran WR on the waiver wire but I like what I saw despite the drop.
Rodgers obviously throw to him when he wants to stretch the field.
I don't see Watson being a guy that catches a lot of balls each week like previous WRs in Green Bay
If he catches that TD, it's like 3/100/TD, didn't see that kind of explosive ability from other positions o the field.

It's tempting to release him but he is my WR6 and I promise you he won't be able to get much higher than WR5 on my bench because I'm stacked but that's why I drafted him. I didn't think a possession WR would look very good behind Kupp-Adams-AJB-Kirk-E.Moore...Watson makes a sweet 6 at the end of the bench.
My plan is to play him in 4-5 weeks when Bye weeks start and every week for a month I have to start someone off the bench and I thought Watson by that point will have some time to adjust to the NFL. I don't think Lazard, Watson or Cobb can do anything I've seen Christian Watson do stretching the Defense.

The drop was terrible but also showed how explosive this kid can be.
Yeah, my WR corps not as strong as yours but similar: Kupp-Sutton-Cooks-E.Moore------London-Watson --and I'm holding for now. Will need to make a decision to drop for a QB and TE for byes in a few weeks, so hopefully by then we'll know what Watson's got.
 

Packers rookie Christian Watson among fastest ball-carriers in Week 1

According to Next Gen Stats, Watson was one of the five fastest ball-carriers during Week 1 of the 2022 season.

The rookie from North Dakota State reached 20.82 miles per hour on a 7-yard run during the second quarter on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. Only three players – Steelers receiver Chase Claypool, Giants running back Saquon Barkley and Bengals running back Joe Mixon – reached a higher speed with the ball in their hands than Watson during Week 1.

Kid has real burner mode in him even in pads. And that speed they clocked him at was just on the end around they gave him. Probably faster on the deep ball.
 
Love his answers to reporter --

“I just know it’s a play that I’m going to make 99 times out of 100,” Watson said. “Going forward, I’m going to make that play every single time.”
Agreed. Problem is, based upon his drop rate at NDSU and seeing that in week 1, he probably should have said “I know it’s a play that I’m going to make 90 out of 100 times. Going forward, I’m going to make that play 89 out of 99 times.”
 

Christian Watson caught 3-of-3 targets for nine yards in Green Bay's Week 2 win over Chicago.​

Watson was heavily involved in Green Bay's run action dressing, and actually caused a fumble when a snap hit him in the leg while he was in motion. Much like Romeo Doubs, the first two weeks have not shown that you simply have to have him on redraft rosters, but he remains a decent stash with upside. You probably shouldn't start him in Week 3's game against Tampa Bay unless you're in a wildly deep league.
Sep 18, 2022, 11:34 PM ET
 

Christian Watson (hamstring) participated in Friday's practice.​

He will likely be in as a limited participant. Watson went limited-DNP-limited in the three days of practice this week, and as such is likely behind Romeo Doubs in the pecking order for the Pack even if he is active. He'll likely be questionable when the injury report is put out later today. Watson will be hard to trust as an ancillary option in a game with a 41.5 over/under even if he does play.
Sep 23, 2022, 1:25 PM ET
 
Sammy Watkins was put on injured reserve.

That opens up one of the outside receiver slots, Lazard likes to be the SWR.

Should mean more snaps this week for Watson and Doubs, obviously I like the upside of Watson.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Top