Packers hosted NDSU receiver Christian Watson on draft visit, per report

Add another wide receiver to the list of players that the Green Bay Packers have brought in for top-30 visits ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft. On Thursday morning, news broke that the Packers have brought in one of the more highly-discussed receiver prospects likely to hear his name called on the first or second days of the draft: North Dakota State’s Christian Watson.

Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network has reported that Watson visited the Packers along with several other teams in recent weeks. Pauline notes that Watson’s Senior Bowl performance and his exceptional Combine have put him in a good position heading into the final stretch of the draft process.

Indeed, Watson put up an all-time great workout in Indianapolis, posting a Relative Athletic Score of 9.96. Take a look:

Questions about Watson largely stem from the competition level he faced at the FCS level, where North Dakota State has been a dominant program in recent years, and his overall level of consistency in college, including issues with drops. Still, he has been gaining steam as a possible late first-round pick, largely on the heels of his athletic abilities, and was recently mocked to the Packers as high as #22 overall by the likes of Mel Kiper of ESPN and Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus, among others.

However, Pauline’s reporting paints a different picture of how teams evaluate Watson:

As it stands now, no team I’ve spoken with has a first-round grade on the North Dakota State product. Rather it seems everyone has Watson as a mid-second-round choice.

Although Green Bay likely got a good look at Watson at the Senior Bowl, like all NFL teams, they evidently are hoping to get some additional information on him to fill out their picture on how high of a grade to assign him. In just over 14 days, we’ll know whether the Packers or any other team think highly enough of Watson to take him in round one of the draft.