User:Doorleym1/Christian Watson

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Christian Justus Watson (born May 12, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played high school football at Henry B. Plant High School and played college football at North Dakota State.^[1]

Watson was born in Phoenix, Arizona and grew up in Tampa, Florida. While living in Florida, Watson attended Henry B. Plant High School.^[2] Watson enjoyed being active, especially while playing football. Although Watson was on Junior Varsity for his first two years of high school, he was able to play varsity for both his Junior and Senior seasons.^[3] He began his freshman year at 5-foot-9 and ended his senior season at 6-foot-2.^[4] The time between his junior and senior year, Watson gained twenty pounds. His growth allowed him to be more successful on the field, where he caught 23 passes for 393 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior.^[5][6] He graduated from Henry B. Plant High School in 2017.^[7]

While being recruited, many schools looked over Christian and did not want to give him a chance.^[8] Atif Austin, a former wide receiver coach at North Dakota State University, gave Christian his first offer. Christian and his father, Tim Watson, traveled up to the NDSU campus for a visit. In July 2016, during the summer before his senior year, Christian verbally committed to NDSU.^[9] Watson's high school has produced several Division I and NFL athletes from their program, and he was their next big prospect.^[10]

Watson redshirted his true freshman season. As a redshirt freshman, he caught nine passes for 165 yards as the Bison won the 2018 FCS national championship.^[12] As a redshirt sophomore, Watson caught 34 passes for 732 yards and six touchdowns and was named second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC).^[13]

He had 19 catches for 442 yards and one touchdown and was named first-team All-MVFC and 1st team All-American(AP) as an All-Purpose player in his redshirt junior season, which was shortened and played in early 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[14] He repeated as a first-team All-MVFC selection, and was named second-team All-American(AP) after catching 43 passes for 801 yards and seven touchdowns in his redshirt senior season.^[15] Watson and the Bison won the 2021 FCS national championship, beating Montana State 38-10.^[16] He missed almost the entire postseason in his senior season.^[17] Watson also played in the 2022 Senior Bowl where he was voted National WR of the Week.^[18]

During the 2022 NFL Combine, Watson was ranked 97th overall and 15th for the Wide Receiver position category.^[22]

Watson was selected as the 2nd pick of the 2nd round (34th overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He was the seventh wide receiver selected in the draft.^[23] Watson was the only wide receiver from North Dakota State University to be drafted in the past thirty-seven years.^[24] On July 20, 2022, he signed his rookie contract.^[25] Christian signed a four-year deal with the Green Bay Packers worth $9,241,031.^[26]

During the offseason, Watson suffered from a minor knee injury. He decided to undergo knee surgery which caused him to miss majority of training camp. During his absence, rookie wide receiver Romeo Doubs took most of the attention on the field. Going into the season, the Packers are looking at these two receivers to be major components of the offense.^[27]

In Watsons' NFL debut, during Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, Watson, on his first NFL play, dropped Rodgers’ first throw of the game on a deep route on which he had beaten former All-Pro Patrick Peterson. After the dropped pass, Rodgers did not look toward Watson until the end of the fourth quarter. Even though there have been some mistakes, Aaron Rodgers has high expectations from Watson in the 2022 NFL season.^[28] He finished the game with two receptions for 32 yards, and rushing once for an additional seven in the 23–7 loss.^[29][30][31] In Week 4, against the New England Patriots, Watson scored his first NFL touchdown on a 15-yard rush.^[32]

During Week 8, in the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills, Watson suffered from a concussion. Watson went out for a 12 yard pass during their first offensive possession, and he received a hard hit to the head. Although they brought out a board for assistance, he eventually was able to walk off the field.^[33]

Watson's father, Tim Watson, played safety in the NFL during the 1990s.^[34] He was a sixth-round selection of the Packers in the 1993 NFL Draft.^[35] During his career, Watson's dad played on the Packers, Eagles, Chiefs, and Giants.^[36] His father now goes by Tazim Wajid Wajed.^[37]

Throughout Watson's life, he has been known for his athleticism and excellent coordination. At four years old, Watson began to display his coordination skills while riding dirt bikes. Watson's grandfather was a dirt bike rider, encouraging him to adopt the hobby. His mother, Christa, nicknamed him "spiderman" because he was very acrobatic and climbed around everything. While playing youth football at eight years old, Watson displayed his athleticism by doing backflips on the field.^[38]

Watson has two siblings, a brother and a sister. His older sister's name is Alexus.^[39] Watson's older brother, Tre Watson, was a linebacker at Maryland and Illinois. While playing at these schools, Tre achieved All-Big Ten linebacker. Tre was similar to Christian in the fact that he hit his growth spurt later than most kids.^[40] Watson also has two step-siblings.^[39]