Steelers rookie wideout George Pickens seems to be the popular choice among fantasy football players to possibly fall in Chase's footsteps, while others feel that fellow second-round pick Skyy Moore will find a quick rapport with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.įantasy football players also shouldn't sleep on Christian Watson, the Packers' rookie wideout who despite undergoing minor knee surgery this offseason has made a quick impression on Aaron Rodgers. Ja'Marr Chase, for example, thrilled the fantasy football owners who drafted him last year after he won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. They were traveling Ramsey with him, which shows you the level of respect he’s gained from another staff, another team, when they take their best player on defense, and they shadow him across the field.There's always a rookie gem when it comes to fantasy football, particularly at receiver. It really doesn’t matter, he has an impact, whether he’s getting the ball or not, because he dictates coverages as well. “He’s a big man that can block…it was on display tonight. “Christian, he is a total team player and gives great effort,” said LaFleur after the game. Just look at the play of this Packers offense over the last month he’s been a game-changer, with or without the ball. So no, this wasn’t another game where Watson filled the stat sheet with highlight reel plays, but his impact was certainly felt by the rest of this Green Bay Packers offense. He also threw a key block on Aaron Jones’ touchdown catch in the second half. On top of altering coverages and creating for others, Watson was able to draw two penalties that helped extend drives on plays where he beat his defender, and truthfully, it could have been more. Going back to the INT, Allen Lazard had 9.3 yards of separation when Aaron Rodgers released the ball per That's the most wide open interception Rodgers has thrown in the NGS era (since 2016). In general, there was also all that room underneath because of how the Rams were defending Green Bay - which again, can in part be attributed to Watson - but he also helped create some of that space as well, running deep routes. This was clear as day on what ended up being an interception from Rodgers, but it was a beautifully designed play where several defenders followed Watson across the field, leaving Lazard wide open, who was heading the other direction. Watson’s gravity was also on display as well with the attention that he drew, thus creating opportunities for others in the passing game. “They had Jalen on him for a decent part of it, but it wasn’t like he was singled up it was a lot of two-shell–surprising and not a lot of pressure.” “I think Watson defiantly had something to do with it,” said Aaron Rodgers postgame when asked about the Rams’ usage of cover-2. This hasn’t been the case as of late, however, and a big reason is Watson’s speed and home run ability. This led to receivers getting jammed regularly and made the running and quick games more challenging with the extra defenders near the line of scrimmage. If we were to go back and rewatch the Packers’ offensive possessions from a month and a half ago against Dallas and Detroit, those defenses didn’t fear the Green Bay passing game and were playing a lot of press and cover-1. It was also evident that the Rams’ game plan was to take away the big play, leading to a heavy dose of cover-2 and soft coverages that the Packers were able to take advantage of with the quick passing game and running the ball. But Watson was very much able to impact the game in other ways.įor much of the first half, Rams star cornerback Jalen Ramsey followed Watson, and as Matt LaFleur pointed out, tells us the amount of respect they have for him. Even afterwards, Aaron Rodgers pointed out some missed opportunities that could have been touchdowns.

Watson finished the night with four receptions on six targets for a modest 46 yards.

However, his presence on this Green Bay Packers offense was very much felt. When it comes to production, we didn’t see Christian Watson stuff the stat sheet as he has over the previous four games, where he accumulated 313 receiving yards and eight total touchdowns.

Christian watson highlight reel