Paul Bretl | 4/7/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — As the Packers search for consistency in the passing game this offseason, accomplishing that come the start of the 2025 season becomes more difficult without Christian Watson’s presence for a portion of the season.
Watson suffered an ACL tear in the Packers’ Week 18 loss to the Chicago Bears. There hasn’t been a reported timeline for his return, but he is expected to miss a portion of the upcoming season.
“I wouldn’t count him out just because I know his work ethic and how he approaches things,” said GM Brian Gutekunst at the NFL league meetings. “Certainly it won’t shock me at all if he’s a big factor for us this season, but at the same time, as you said, we have to make sure we’re protecting him in case that doesn’t happen.”
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In what is a deep wide receiver room, there still aren’t any other pass-catchers on this Packers’ roster who can bring the combination of size and speed to the equation like Watson can.
The obvious loss for the offense is the lack of big-play ability that will now be missing with Watson’s ability to stretch the field. Last season, Watson had caught 29 passes for 620 yards and two touchdowns.
This included a four-game stretch from Weeks 11-14, where Watson hauled in 10-of-16 passes for 331 yards at a whopping 33.1 yards per reception. Watson was targeted downfield on 37.5% of the passes thrown his way–the eighth-highest rate among receivers–and his 21.4 yards per catch is the third-most in football this season.
“Christian’s a pretty dynamic guy,” Gutekunst said. “There’s not many guys like him in our league, so when he’s out there, it certainly changes things. Getting him healthy down the stretch I think will be a really important part of that.”
This field-stretching element within the offense will have to be replaced. However, while there aren’t any other players on the roster who are 6-4, 208 pounds, and ran a 4.28-second 40, the Packers do believe that there are players already on the roster who can provide this vertical presence.
“You always want that, and I think we’ve got that,” said Matt LaFleur at the league meetings about having a deep threat. “I think we’ve got guys that can do that, whether it’s Jayden Reed or Bo Melton. And I don’t want to limit Wicks and Rome and Malik and those guys either. Those guys can certainly do some of that stuff.”
LaFleur would also mention using tight ends Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave in certain situations to stretch the field. Gutekunst, when asked a similar question, would bring up free agent signee Mecole Hardman, who ran a 4.33 coming out of Georgia.
“It’s on us as a staff to kind of get creative and find different ways to open up some of those shots down the field in the pass game,” LaFleur added.
Last season, according to PFF’s metrics, Dontayvion Wicks was second on the team with 18 targets of at least 20-plus yards downfield. Compared to the rest of the NFL, this ranked 34th. Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed each had 15 downfield targets, which was tied for 47th among wide receivers, and Bo Melton had seven. At tight end, meanwhile, Kraft’s five targets of 20 or more yards ranked 16th.
So the Packers asking the players mentioned by Gutekunst and LaFleur to step into this role more often won’t be new to them by any means, but circumstances are also quite different when defenses know that you’re the go-to downfield option on a route versus there being attention elsewhere–like on Watson–as we saw in Green Bay’s playoff loss to Philadelphia.
Having that downfield threat is a critical component for an offense. Beyond the big plays that player can generate, and as LaFleur often says, explosive plays lead to points, having that presence within an offense can open up opportunities for others. To limit those downfield throws, defenses may play a heavy-dose of Cover-2, which is then a prime opportunity for the offense to run the ball.
When a defense respects an offense’s ability to stretch the field, it can create better spacing over the middle and on underneath routes for other pass-catchers to attack.
On the flip side, when that element isn’t present, second and third level defenders can begin creeping closer to the line of scrimmage, taking away space to operate in on those other routes, which in turn, makes moving the ball more challenging. And to a degree, even the run game can be impacted with more defenders closer to the ball.
“I do think the more explosive players that you have, the chances are that you can [be more explosive], whether they’re running somebody out of there or they’re the primary read. It’s all dependent upon what coverages you’re getting, but yeah, you definitely want speed on the perimeter,” LaFleur said.
Whether the downfield element exists or not, either way, there is a massive trickle-down effect–positive or negative–that impacts the rest of the passing game and even the running game as well.
The Packers believe they have several players who can impact the game in that fashion, and they could also still add someone in the NFL draft. There may not be one designated downfield presence without Watson, but rather it could be a by-committee approach depending on the in-game situation, who the opponent is, and what LaFleur wants to go after schematically.
If the Packers’ passing game is going to be more consistent this season, beyond improved play, the attention to detail, and numerous other factors, the vertical component has to be a part of the equation. If so, there is a lot of good that comes with that and makes the jobs of everyone on offense easier. But without it, it could be tough sledding through the air.
“I think it’s just a little bit, it was our offense in general was a little bit inconsistent at times in the passing game,” said Gutekunst of the wide receiver play last season. “We worked through some injuries as well, which always affects that.
“They’re very experienced players now, but they’re entering kind of that third year where you usually see these guys get into a comfort zone when their ability really comes out. So hopefully we can stay healthy in there, see what those guys give us this year.”