Green Bay Packers rookie receiver Christian Watson had a rough start to his NFL career against the Vikings on Sunday.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had Watson wide open deep down the field on the very first play of the game. True to form, Rodgers hit the rookie wideout in stride, but, Watson dropped the ball.
Christian Watson’s first target of his career and only one for the rest of this season. pic.twitter.com/ptOJjxnF66
— Dave Kluge (@DaveKluge) September 11, 2022
Throughout the rest of the game, Rodgers hardly looked Watson’s way. He had just two catches for 34 yards on the afternoon.
Still, it might not be all bad for Watson.
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Despite not receiving many targets, Watson played a large part in the team’s offense. With Allen Lazard out with injury, Watson led all Packers receivers in offensive snaps played on quarterback drop backs with 29. He was slightly ahead of fellow rookie Romeo Doubs, who played on 27 of the team’s 43 passing plays.
“I just know it’s a play that I’m going to make 99 times out of 100,” said Watson about the drop in the opening series. “Going forward, I’m going to make that play every single time.”
While Rodgers’ may have been deterred by the mishap, the future Hall of Fame quarterback couldn’t stop singing the rookie’s praises during training camp.
“I might have to change Dave Bakhtiari’s nickname, because this kid might be the new baby giraffe, or more like a deer because he’s just prancing and flying around on the field,” Rodgers said during a recent appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “This dude’s got incredible stride length. And really, for a man who is 6-foot-5, his speed is legit. It was nice having him. He’s a different type of receiver than we’ve had. A guy that big with that type of stride length with that speed.”
It didn’t go according to plan for Watson and the Packers during the Week 1 loss to their division rival. But Watson him to get plenty of more opportunities throughout the season; especially if he’s still logging a high percentage of playing time.
