Overview
- Through five games Watson has 26 catches for 474 yards and six receiving touchdowns, averaging 18.2 yards per catch and becoming the first player since Jerry Rice in 1986 to post at least 25 catches, six TDs and an 18+ yards per reception average in a team’s first five games.
- Watson’s six catches for 143 yards and two long TDs helped the Packers rout the Chicago Bears 31-7 on Oct. 11 and pushed Green Bay to a 3-2 record heading into a Sunday night game against the Dallas Cowboys.
- Quarterback Jordan Love credited Watson’s development in contested catches and the pair’s growing chemistry, saying Watson is “playing at a high level” and that he can be targeted on any route.
- Watson’s expanded downfield role has grown more important after Jayden Reed suffered a season-ending neck injury and with the Packers’ running game struggling to gain yards consistently.
- Watson’s breakout follows a full recovery from a torn ACL and lines up with the team’s investment in a four-year, $110.5 million extension, and his sustained production since that return has changed how defenses must plan against Green Bay.