For Record-Setting Watson, Scoring Touchdowns Is Elementary

No rookie in NFL history has scored more touchdowns in a four-game span than Green Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Dec 5, 2022 3:27 PM EST

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Randy Moss and Christian Watson share a couple things in common. Like the Hall of Famer Moss, Watson is freakishly gifted from a height-speed perspective. Like Moss, both players starred at off-the-beaten-path schools; Marshall didn’t move to Division I until Moss’ final season in 1997 and North Dakota State is the dominant FCS program.

As a rookie with the Minnesota Vikings in 1998, Moss took the NFL by storm with a league-leading 17 touchdown receptions. As part of that, he caught a touchdown pass in a rookie-record seven consecutive games. With his 14-yard touchdown catch just before halftime for the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Watson has caught a touchdown pass in four consecutive games.

During that streak, Watson has scored eight touchdowns. That matches Moss for the most scores by a rookie receiver in a four-game stretch in NFL history.

In this year’s draft, the receiver-starved Packers watched six receivers go off the board in the first 20 picks. General manager Brian Gutekunst traded his two second-round picks, Nos. 53 and 59, in a deal with Minnesota to zoom up to No. 34 to grab Watson.

There’s a fear factor in making a trade with a rival. What if it doesn’t work out? Gutekunst, however, appears to have hit a home run.

Playing in a run-first offense at North Dakota State, Watson didn’t get an abundance of opportunities in the passing game. So, he was knocked for being a bit raw just because he wasn’t asked to run the full route tree or to be a focal point of the offense.

“I think I was definitely pegged as being rawer than I truly was,” Watson said after catching one touchdown and running for another on Sunday at the Chicago Bears. “I definitely feel like I have a lot of growth, a lot of potential, as well. I was in an offense that was really successful at what we did and if I only needed to run three or four routes for us to be successful and win championships in college, then that’s exactly what we were going to do.

“I think there was a lot that scouts or anyone who turned on the tape wasn’t able to see out of me just because we didn’t need to do that to be successful. So, I think I’ve been able to continue to prove that I can do more and more than people thought I could do, but I think there’s a lot of room for growth, as well.”

After playing 40 snaps in his NFL debut at Minnesota in Week 1, injuries limited Watson to 81 snaps and eight catches over the next eight games. Healthy the last four weeks, he has taken the league by storm with three touchdowns vs. Dallas, two vs. Tennessee, one vs. Philadelphia and two vs. Chicago.

For the season, Watson and Seattle running back Kenneth Walker lead the rookie class with nine touchdowns. Nobody else has more than five. Suddenly, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year race has tightened. At FanDuel Sportsbook, Walker is +150, the Jets’ Garrett Wilson is +260 and Watson is third at +380.

Watson was the seventh of 28 receivers selected. Of the 17 rookies to be targeted at least 10 times, Watson is No. 1 with seven touchdown receptions (Washington’s Jahan Dotson has five) and No. 2 with 2.30 yards per pass route (New Orleans’ Chris Olave is first with 2.45), according to Pro Football Focus.

It’s been a meteoric rise from a receiver who opened his career by dropping a 75-yard touchdown at Minnesota and dropped his first two opportunities against Dallas before his breakout performance.

“It’s so cool to see guys respond in these moments, and then once you see confidence, once he’s gained confidence, to see him take off,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “Just really proud of him. He’s a smart guy that works his tail off. It means a lot to him. I think it’s cool to see the other guys, they have confidence in him as well. It’s just a really cool story.”