Packers focusing on figuring out Christian Watson’s hamstring issues

Quarterback Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers are currently in the midst of what figures to be a highly important offseason for the future direction of the franchise. Love just finished guiding the Packers all the way to the divisional round of the NFC Playoffs, where the team eventually bowed out to the reigning conference champion San Francisco 49ers in what was a back and forth affair, with Love playing well for most of the evening but making a few backbreaking mistakes down the stretch.

One key storyline for the Packers this offseason is the health of talented young receiver Christian Watson, who missed time throughout the 2023-24 campaign with a lingering hamstring issue that might have limited him during the team’s playoff run.

Recently, head coach Matt LaFleur broke down the current status of the injury, including revealing that Watson recently visited a lab in Madison, Wisconsin to try to solve the issue.

“They’ve got some special lab there or whatever that all the medical guys can give you the better diagnosis on [Watson],” LaFleur said, via Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette (per Mike Florio of NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk).  “But yeah, we’ve looked at a lot of different things in terms of just his body comp and maybe areas that were stronger than others to try to help get us in front of that.”

Coach LaFleur also explained how cautious will be with Watson moving forward into practices and next season.

“We’re trying to look at everything we can do to mitigate those risks,” LaFleur said. “I know [Watson] is working his tail off right now down in Florida, trying to make sure that he comes in the best shape possible. Certainly, we looked at elements of the things that we can control because, I mean, soft-tissue injuries happen in our sport. It’s like, how can we mitigate those? And that’s what we’ve looked at, you know, from him personally to what we’re asking of our players from a load perspective, whether it’s in training or practice.”

An important piece for the Packers’ offense

Christian Watson joined the Packers in 2022 when the team drafted him out of North Dakota State University with the second pick of the second round. Since then, Watson has performed admirably, first in his rookie season with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and then, following Rodgers’ shocking trade to the New York Jets, with Jordan Love, who wasn’t a rookie himself but was in his first full season as the starter for Green Bay.

In their limited playing time together, Watson and Love were able to establish a real connection, although they weren’t able to get a ton of reps, as Watson missed significant time due to the hamstring ailments. In any case, the Packers will likely continue to look to add depth at that position as the NFL Draft approaches, especially considering the loss of running back Aaron Jones in free agency.

The NFL Draft is set to take place at the end of April.