Christian Watson is a very good athlete with good speed, agility, and excellent body control. For a taller receiver, he is surprisingly dynamic and displays the ability to consistently win against man coverage. In the passing game, he is extremely tough to cover. He can defeat press with foot quickness and has surprisingly good vertical speed. His home-run speed threatens a defender’s cushion quickly.

He does a good job of dropping his weight while displaying the separation quickness at the top of the route. He has a very good catch radius and is a matchup problem in contested-catch situations. He can contort his body to make tough catches and is dynamic with the football in his hands. In the NFL he is an outside receiver who projects with very good ability in the kicking game both as a returner and a core special teamer.

Ideal Role: Outside WR

Scheme Fit: Any offense

FILM EVALUATION

Written by Drae Harris

Games watched: UNI (2021), SDSU (2021), MSU (2021)

Best Game Studied: UNI (2021)

Worst Game Studied: MSU (2021)

Route Running: He uses some creativity and nuance when running routes. While he won’t have elite separation quickness at the top of the route because he is a high-cut player, he is creative enough to get separation on intermediate routes. He also uses his body to out-physical smaller defenders and create separation.

Hands: He has strong hands to secure the football in contested-catch situations. He does an excellent job contorting his body to catch off-target throws. He also displays a good ability to track the deep ball and secure the catch.

Separation: On the surface, you may not think he is a good separator due to his big frame. However, bigger receivers should be judged on a different platform than smaller ones. He can separate at the top of the route and has good speed to win vertically as well.

Release: He has improved his release in 2021. He has shown the ability to beat press with upper-body strength. He also has the foot quickness to get vertical and stack a defender.

Run After Catch: See Above.

Ball Skills: See Above.

Football IQ: His football IQ is good. He knows how to adjust his route to get to the sticks in situational football. When he is underneath, he is cognizant of coverage and knows how to “sit his route down.”

Versatility: He brings some versatility to the position. He has aligned both outside and in the slot. While he has improved his releases off the line in 2021, his skill set also suggests that he would work well off the ball.

Competitive Toughness: He plays with competitive toughness. He catches 6 routes when contact is imminent. He will run block and is tough to get down when he has the ball in his hands.

Big Play Ability: See Above.

SCOUT GRADES

TDN Consensus: 80.83/100 (Second Round Value)

Crabbs Grade: 80.50/100

Marino Grade: 81.50/100

Harris Grade: 81.00/100

Sanchez Grade: 81.00/100

Weissman Grade: 78.50/100

Parson Grade: 82.50