Christian

Watson

Watson drew lockdown corner Joey Porter Jr. for much of the game, something that aided teammate Matthew Golden in leading the team in both targets and receiving in the win. The talented fifth-year receiver is already within 74 yards of setting a new career high in receiving while also being just one touchdown shy of a new high water mark, two achievements he will look to unlock when the Packers face off against the Lions in a potential shootout in Week 7. Watson remains a back-end WR1 for that matchup.

Watson’s 143-yard outburst was the third highest receiving total of his career, joining a Week 11 2024 effort and his 6/147/2 broadside against the Vikings this Week 1. Rather amazingly, the two-score effort was his seventh. This one came in true Watson fashion, as he found the end zone from 42 and 53 yards out. For the 42-yarder he ran right by the defense. For the 53-yarder, he high-pointed the ball off the defender’s helmet in the end zone. It was just that kind of day for the Packers, and it’s been just that kind of season for a wideout in Watson who continues to break out. Now firmly in the weekly WR1 mix, Watson has a potential Week 6 smash spot in the sorry Cowboys.

After scoring four touchdowns over the first three weeks, Watson finally cooled off with his first quiet game of the year. Jordan Love couldn’t get the deep ball going in this game and funneled the short targets to Tucker Kraft and Matthew Golden, leaving Watson without much to do. For a player known for having a low floor, 47 yards is a stunningly reasonable floor game. Watson is simply too good at picking up chunk gains to have the bottom truly fall out. He remains a boom/bust WR2 for his Week 5 date with the Bears.

Watson now has four touchdowns through three games while ranking one target behind Matthew Golden for the team lead at 29. Even better news for fantasy managers is the fact that we’re likely to see this sudden spike in pass volume continue forward given the current state of the Green Bay backfield and offensive line, meaning fantasy managers can continue to start Watson as a legitimate WR1 ahead of a road meeting with the pass-funnel Buccaneers in Week 4.

It was not a pretty game for Watson or the Packers’ offense, which struggled to move the ball against the Jets in a light drizzle all game. While Watson and Jordan Love were inefficient in their connection, they did link up for some big catches, including a short fourth-quarter touchdown. Watson led the team in targets while running one fewer route than Matthew Golden. There is some concern that losing Jayden Reed (neck) to an injury may put even more attention on Watson, but this felt like an off-day for the offense. The ceiling remains really high for Watson this season, especially next week against the Falcons.

Watson got on the board early with an 81-yard bomb for a touchdown in the first quarter. He continued to gash the Vikings for big plays throughout the contest and even got in the end zone a second time on a short toss from Jordan Love just before halftime. Watson slowed down in the second half, but the damage was already done, at least for fantasy purposes. He won’t hit a career-long score every week, but the well-paid wideout certainly looked like a focal point of the Packers’ passing attack today. He will be in the WR2 mix when the Packers take on the Jets.

Prior reports indicated that the Packers’ coaching staff realized that their frequent wide receiver rotation was rubbing their stars the wrong way, prompting a positional personnel churn this offseason. LaFleur’s comments confirm the Packers’ starting wide receiver trio is going to play a lot, and fantasy managers should take note. Watson played extremely well in his recent from an ACL tear last year. If that play carries over, he is a shoo-in WR2 with substantial upside. Golden could be in for a Year 2 leap, and Reed could reliably return FLEX value, or better, if his snap share is high enough.

We know this is getting into the weeds, but Reed’s weekly range of outcomes will be somewhat dependent on his access to heavy personnel packages. Through three NFL seasons, Reed has taken just 31 snaps in 12 personnel, so even a mild increase would boost his target-earning opportunities. Packers QB Jordan Love confirmed that second-year WR Matthew Golden is replacing WR Romeo Doubs as the X-receiver when speaking with the media today, so Golden and Watson (Z-receiver) will likely take the majority of 12 personnel reps this season. If Reed can at least send Golden to the sideline for a decent share of those opportunities, his fantasy managers would stand to benefit.

The extension was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal includes a $31 million signing bonus. The Packers have stocked their receiver room for years now. Green Bay let Romeo Doubs walk in free agency this offseason, but signed Watson and Jayden Reed to extensions this offseason after drafting Matthew Golden last year. Watson appeared in only 48 games in four seasons with the Packers. He appeared in just 10 games last year, but arguably had his best season and that was enough for Green Bay to lock him in as their top wideout for years to come.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter breaks the news, adding that Wicks will now sign a one-year, $12.5 million extension with the Eagles. Over the last four weeks, they also signed WR Hollywood Brown and WR Elijah Moore as well. Schefter reminds us that if the Eagles were to trade away WR A.J. Brown, that would probably happen after June 1st, “when the cap burden would be more manageable for the Eagles.” As things currently stand, Wicks will likely compete for WR3 duties. The trade also leaves Packers WR Christian Watson, WR Jayden Reed and WR Matthew Golden as the team’s top-three options after allowing WR Romeo Doubs to sign with the Patriots last month. The Eagles tacked on an additional year to Wicks’ contract after the deal, tying him to the franchise through the 2027 season. The extension includes $12.5 million in maximum money with $9 million guaranteed.