Christian Watson ready for Year 3 with Packers after solving hamstring conundrum

In his first two seasons in the league, Christian Watson has shown flashes of being an elite wide receiver for the Packers. Unfortunately, injuries have prevented him from putting his full potential to the test. Now, heading into Year 3, Watson has seemingly solved his injury conundrum.

The former second-round draft pick missed nearly half of the Packers’ 2023 season due to a nagging hamstring, which he attributes to “asymmetry” between his two legs. Before OTAs, Watson visited the University of Wisconsin where researchers helped him identify the problem and propose a solution.

“For me, it really was the asymmetry between the legs,” Watson said, via ESPN. “It comes from a lot of things. Obviously, the issues I’ve had in the past with hamstrings, not fully recovering from those strength-wise. So I’ve just been attacking the strength side of it, trying to get that symmetry back and it’s been huge for me. I’ve been feel really, really good, just gotta continue grinding at it.”

“I was obviously a little bit down in my right leg [compared] to the left,” Watson added. “One, it puts strain on the left side, and the left is going through a lot more. And then two, obviously when you’re trying to be equal in power, it obviously puts a lot more stress on the one that’s not as strong. So that’s been the No. 1 thing for me because that leads to fatigue as well. It’s a bad place to be, so obviously that’s been my No. 1 goal to just kind of eliminate that.”

Watson building toward breakout third season

Since working with the researchers at Wisconsin, the Packers star has reduced the difference in strength level between his two legs to 10%, compared to 20%. Continued focus on the issue will reduce the difference in strength even further, which bodes well for his 2024 season.

“I definitely feel like I’m at 100 percent, just in terms of what I’m able to do on the football field right now,” Watson said. “But I mean there’s still a little bit of asymmetry there, and that’s just something that I’m attacking with the training staff in the weight room. But it’s not enough to hold me back from anything, obviously just got to continue to get that right so there’s not any risks in the future.”

During the NFL season, Watson played in just nine games and caught 28 passes for 422 yards and five touchdowns. In his rookie season, he caught 41 passes for 611 yards and seven touchdowns. He also rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries.

On top of solving his injury conundrum this offseason, Watson also got married. He tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend Lakyn Adkins, 25, at Stone Mountain Estates in Malibu, California in April.