Christian Watson is a captivating science experiment. He has the identical genetic make-up as a MyCareer participant on NBA 2K, and simply after his first and solely season of soccer towards the craziest folks on the planet, Watson nonetheless frequently stood out athletically a notch above the remainder of the sector.
Regardless of being an older second-year NFL participant (Watson turned 24 in Could), his bodily instruments basically make him a malleable piece of clay that Matt LaFleur and the Packers teaching workers can mould into no matter they need.
That's why I launched into the fascinating undertaking of trying again at precisely how Watson was utilized in his rookie yr from a run standpoint. What routes does he dial for this loopy athlete?
Watson is NOT a one-trick pony, however he does have one actually good trick, so…
These skeptical of Watson as a draft prospect had been fast to label him as little greater than a deep menace — a direct alternative for Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
These of us who share a deep understanding of the scientific subject often called “the ball” knew the Packers had a lot greater plans for Watson that prolonged far past the artwork of working as quick as you may in a straight line.
That being stated… Watson is concerning the closest factor to a gazelle with pads and a helmet, so when you’ve gotten it in your roster, you may as nicely profit from it.
The Packers did it. Watson ran a complete of 79 Go routes vertically down final season. Go routes accounted for 32% of his 282 whole routes – by comparability, the league common for extensive receivers is 24%.
Watson was additionally above league common in equally vertical “put up” and “nook” routes. When combining the tree's 3 most vertical routes collectively, they accounted for 50% of Watson's whole routes – nicely above the league common of 36%.
Watson targeted solely on the favored Go ball and went on 16 of 79 snaps – roughly 20% of the time and barely above the league common.
Extra outstanding is how far downfield Watson was when the ball reached him. Thanks partially to Aaron Rodgers throwing the ball greater than gravity typically permits, Watson's common depth of goal on “Go” routes was a gargantuan 32.9 yards — nicely beneath the league common of 25.9 yards.
Watson significantly excelled in contested conditions within the subject. He's one of many greatest deep threats you'll see within the NFL, so it is smart that he hauled in a league-best 71% of targets on Go balls (5-of-7).
Watson punished defenses on crossing routes
Behind the Go route and the deep post-corner mixture, Watson's subsequent most typical sample was the transition route, which he ran 40 occasions (16% of the entire).
On these routes, Watson's effectivity was outstanding. He was focused 12 occasions, caught 10 passes for 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That interprets to a passer ranking of 141.0 – solely Justin Jefferson, Mike Williams and DeAndre Hopkins have completed higher on crosses.
The transition route is one which doesn't require plenty of technical nuance or COD abilities. He's an ideal match for a bigger-bodied receiver who can play by way of contact in the midst of the sector and gallop by way of the hashes, making him an ideal match for Watson's construct.
Routes ran much less regularly than common
As you may guess, Watson ran fewer quick and intermediate routes than most NFL receivers. Out routes solely made up 5% of his tree, nicely beneath the league common of 12%. Watson solely caught one route all season.
In/Dig and Hitch/Curl routes made up 8% of his route tree — league averages are 12% and 15%, respectively. That's not an excessive amount of of a shock, because the Packers a lot most well-liked to get Watson on the open grass to maximise his pace.
Specifically, the swing route doesn't permit a lot room for YAC when catching the ball within the incorrect course. Final season, extensive receivers averaged a paltry 2.6 YAC on drop routes — the bottom of any route.
However such is the magic of Watson, he racked up a powerful 6.8 YAC per reception on catch routes, which was 2nd within the league behind the elusive Rondal Moore.
If this was Madden, we'd simply be spamming slant routes all day
One of many shorter routes that permits gamers to maneuver with pace is the outdated Madden favourite slant route.
Watson's slant utilization was simply barely above the league common at 7.6%, and on his 19 slant routes, the ball went his method simply 3 times. However the boy made probably the most of it.
All 3 performs went past the stick and also you most likely bear in mind the cross Watson took to the home towards the Eagles on Sunday Night time Soccer.
70 yards after the catch on simply 3 targets, even when inflated by one play, reveals us simply how highly effective #9 could be catching the ball at full pace.