EXTENDED: The Green Bay Packers and Wide Receiver, Christian Watson agreed on a 4 year, 110.5 million dollar extension with a 31 million dollar signing bonus on Thursday morning. This aligns him just under the 114 million dollar deal that Colts' Wide Receiver, Alec Pierce got over four years earlier this offseason to avoid him hitting free agency. Watson, a former 2022 2nd round pick at pick 34 out of North Dakota State, would have a highly productive rookie season, tallying 41 receptions for 611 yards and seven touchdowns. He would then follow that up with a year in which he dealt with a lingering hamstring injury, but would still total 422 yards on 28 receptions with five receiving touchdowns. In 2024, he would total 29 receptions for 620 yards receiving with two touchdowns. Watson has been consistently a respected deep threat throughout the league when on the field, as he has 20 total touchdowns in his career thus far, including six last season with the exact same from his rookie season, 611 yards but on 35 receptions. In his career thus far, Watson has 2,264 yards receiving on 133 receptions with an average of 17.0 yards per reception, in addition to 20 receiving touchdowns, and two more rushing.
Upon returning from his ACL injury last season in Week 8, from that point forward, Watson would rank 14th in yards, 2nd in yards per catch with 17.5 yards per catch, T-5th in touchdown receptions with six, and drops on targets, in which he was targeted 55 times, he would rank 1st with only one drop. This would be showcased as early as his return in Pittsburgh against the Steelers where he would come back with 4 receptions for 85 yards in limited snaps while working back in. Down the stretch, he would record multiple games with at least two touchdowns, including standout performances against the New York Giants, as well as the Chicago Bears. Against the Baltimore Ravens, after a two touchdown perfomance a few weeks prior, Watson would record 113 yards on five receptions with a touchdown as well. When Watson is on the field, you can feel the affect of the defense having to play a Safety over top of him to respect his speed, which opens up the field for everyone else, as well as the run game. When targeted, Watson has an average of 120.0 passer rating for the Quarterback that targets him, while also having a 2.27 yards per route run adjustment from defensive schemes. This shows that when Watson is on the field, defensive schemes are forced to account for it by shifting their alignments on average 2.27 yards which ranks 4th in the NFL.
Overall, this was a win for both sides as the Green Bay Packers are able to solidify their Wide Receiver Room for years to come with Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Matthew Golden, while Watson gets his well deserved money to stay in Green Bay with the team that drafted him.