Prospect Bio

Christian Watson was born to play football. His dad played safety for the Chiefs, Giants, and Eagles from 1993-1997 while his brother played for the Dolphins and the Dallas Renegades of the XFL. While football is certainly in his blood, Watson also starred in track and field at Plant High School in Tampa, Florida. He competed in the 200m, long jump, and triple jump. On the gridiron, Watson totaled 587 receiving yards and eight touchdowns while helping lead his team to a runner-up finish in the state title game. As a two-star recruit, Watson didn’t garner much attention from the big schools. He opted for North Dakota State where he redshirted his freshman season. The next year, Watson caught just nine passes for 165 yards despite playing in all 14 contests. He finally found his groove in 2019, hauling in 34 balls for a team-leading 732 receiving yards and six touchdowns. It was enough to earn second-team all-conference honors. His 2020 season wasn’t as strong numbers-wise, but he still was named first-team all-conference. He His best season came in 2021, though, catching 43 passes for 801 yards and seven touchdowns. 

While Watson proved to be a quality receiver, his dynamism and versatility were on full display. He rushed for 492 yards and amassed nearly 700 kick return yards over his four seasons.

College Stats

Christian Watson College Stats Courtesy of ESPN

Positives

+Speed

+Agility

+Excellent body control

+686 career return yards 

+492 career rush yards 

+Big catch radius

+Big-play threat

+Averaged over 18 yards per reception in all four seasons

+44% (90th-percentile) College Dominator (PlayerProfiler)

+3.12 yards per team pass attempt

Negatives

-Redshirted

-Didn’t break out until his redshirt sophomore season 

-Not as dominant in contested-catch situations as you’d expect given his size 

-Level of competition

-3.9 receptions per game in 2021

Highlight Reel

Comparable Player: TBD

NFL Draft Projection: Third Round

Bottom Line:

The fact that Christian Watson was unable to produce meaningful offensive production until his third year at North Dakota State is a pretty sizable red flag. At a bigger school—sure—but at a program that hasn’t had a wide receiver drafted since 1985, it’s quite concerning. That aside, Watson is a big-play threat with incredible dynamic ability. His impact in the return game and nearly 500 career rushing yards shows how important the Bisons felt it was to get the ball in his hands. At the NFL level, Watson projects as an immediate special teams contributor, both as a returner and as part of coverage units. He’s unlikely to make much of an impact on offense early on. With some time to develop, Watson will be an outside vertical threat who will specialize in splash plays. It’s looking more and more like he will come off the board on day two, though early fourth round would be more appropriate. Watson is being selected quite early in rookie drafts as he has garnered hype given his big-play ability and good Senior Bowl week. Unless that ADP comes down considerably, he’s looking like an early fade.

Post Draft Analysis:

Aaron Rodgers gets his wide receiver. The Packers traded up in the early second round to select Christian Watson who will have an opportunity to make an immediate impact on one of the league’s most wide open wide receiver depth charts. While the pick will be viewed as an attempt to replace Davante Adams, Watson is more in the mold of a Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Watson will be a downfield presence and red zone threat for Rodgers. He will take some jet sweeps and play some special teams as well. The landing spot certainly gives Watson the best chance to reach his ceiling outcome.

Resources: DLF, PlayerProfiler, PFN, PFF, TDN

Yards Per-Formance Prospect Grade