Matt LaFleur recently said that Christian Watson was "ahead of schedule" in his long recovery from a torn ACL. Watson showed why.
Only 166 days after suffering the injury, Watson posted a video on social media of himself running routes and making cuts. He looked smooth, comfortable, and close to full speed. Of course, this doesn't mean he'll return any sooner than initially predicted, but it at least indicates his recovery is going to plan, which is incredible news for the Green Bay Packers.
"Absolutely freakazoid alien stuff from Christian Watson," writes Andy Herman of Packer Report. "I'm still tempering expectations on a timeline, because you never know with this stuff, but this seems like a pretty damn good sign as of right now."
It's hard to disagree with Herman's assessment.
Again, this doesn't tell us anything about his timetable to return. While LaFleur said Watson is ahead of schedule, he did temper expectations when asked if the former second-round pick could return sooner than expected.
"Probably not to be honest," LaFleur said on June 12.
But Watson's workout video is still highly encouraging.
Packers receiver Christian Watson proved he continues to make great progress on road to recovery
Even if the Packers don't get Watson back until midseason or later, this video is another positive step. Significant injuries like this can be complicated. Nothing is guaranteed, and there's always the risk of setbacks. It's a long road to recovery, but Watson moving so smoothly after LaFleur gave an encouraging update is so good to see.
In the meantime, the Packers must determine which wide receivers make the roster while Watson recovers.
Barring a surprise trade, we can assume Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks will make the 53-man roster. So will rookies Matthew Golden and Savion Williams.
Who joins them, if anyone? Mecole Hardman has made a strong impression so far this summer, while Bo Melton is showing off his versatility after getting snaps at cornerback.
The Packers need their returning group to take that next step and clean up the mistakes, notably the dropped passes, while also getting contributions from the new additions to the receiving corps.
And, at some point this season, Watson should return to join them. He is still on a long road to recovery, but his workout video gives us visual proof of the progress he is making.