The Green Bay Packers are currently 3-1 and they’re tied for first in the NFC North. Not a bad start to the season, right?
It’s certainly better than being 2-2 or 1-3, but it hasn’t exactly been a flawless start for the Packers.
Green Bay hasn’t scored more than 27 points in a game this season. The Packers currently have the No. 21 scoring offense in the NFL at 18.8 points per game. That’s obviously not what you expect from an Aaron Rodgers-led offense.
But part of the reason for the dip in production early this season has been Rodgers getting adjusted to essentially a new group of pass catchers.
The Packers have also dealt with some injuries to the offensive line and their wide receiver group.
The good news is that it sounds like Green Bay could be adding a more dynamic element to their offense starting this week. Rodgers appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday and he talked about rookie wide receiver Christian Watson and ways the Packers can better use him moving forward.
“Look, I tell you, he’s got special speed. He really does. He’s got incredible stride length,” said Rodgers. “When you watch some of the film back, it’s similar to watching Davante his rookie year.”
“You know there were games where I didn’t give Davante a ton of looks, but you go back and watch the film, and you’re thinking, ‘Man, this guy is open often.’ It’s like that from time to time with Christian.”
“There’s a few routes, I mean not as much as Davante, I just think Davante was a little more polished route runner as a rookie, but there are a few times where I might need to give him a second look even when things don’t look great from the start because he does have that different type of speed. But we’re finding ways to use him, I think, and again, we have to have patience.”
Watson, a second-round selection by the Packers earlier this spring, missed time early in the season due to injury and he hasn’t done a lot since returning.
The former North Dakota State standout has 10 catches for 51 yards through three games. He also has 2 rushing attempts for 22 yards and a touchdown.
There’s a reason Watson was an early second-round pick. And it sounds like we might be seeing that reason soon. Rodgers is still building trust with Watson — which takes time (remember, Watson dropped a wide-open touchdown pass from Rodgers in his first game) — but once that trust is there, we should see Watson bring a new element to Green Bay’s offense.
And based on what Rodgers said this week, we might see that new element sooner rather than later.
