Even Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers couldn't believe the quick development of Christian Watson in his rookie season.
Watson has been phenomenal for the Packers in recent weeks, though it didn't start that way as Green Bay's wide receiving corps was out of sorts to begin the campaign. Watson wasn't able to get a receiving touchdown until Week 10 when he recorded three against the Dallas Cowboys, but he has been on fire ever since then.
On Sunday in their Week 13 showdown against the Chicago Bears, the rookie wideout found the end zone not once but twice. He scored one touchdown on the ground and another on air to help the Packers win, 28-19.
“It’s been a rapid, wild development,” Rodgers said of Watson, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “It’s hard to think about someone who goes from being kind of here-or-there, minimal-production to a home-run player.”
True enough, what Christian Watson has done is surprising, to say the least. After all, many thought that Aaron Rodgers and his wide receivers wouldn't be able to make it work after a less than ideal start to the season. It has been well documented how Rodgers was unhappy with the receiving group, and the same goes for the receivers towards their QB as they felt being used as a scapegoat for the team's struggles.
Amid all the issues, though, Watson has stepped up and provided a glimmer of hope that Rodgers and his receivers can be effective together.
Watson, for his part, isn't thinking what would have been had he started the season like he did in their past four games. Nonetheless, he did say he has never been on a run like the one he's having where he has scored eight touchdowns in his last 17 touches.
It remains to be seen if Watson can keep up with the insane production, but there is no doubt he has given the Packers a reason to be optimistic for the near- and long-term future.