As the 2026 NFL regular season is still more than three months from getting underway, there's naturally plenty of time for pundits to look at every single aspect of the upcoming campaign, especially now that rosters are pretty much set.
One such example comes from our good friend over at FanSided, Austen Bundy, who recently took a little time to offer up his thoughts on one veteran from each of the four teams in the NFC North who is facing what he calls a "make-or-break season."
For the Green Bay Packers, Bundy rolled with wide receiver Christian Watson, with the following being his reasoning for the selection:
"Romeo Doubs is gone so somebody has to step up and claim the Packers' WR1 position for the first time in multiple seasons. The team hasn't had a 1,000-yard receiver since Davante Adams in 2021 and with more targets available, Watson needs to get open or risk being typecast as a depth option. The team drafted Matthew Golden for a reason and head coach Matt LaFleur shouldn't hesitate to promote him if Watson isn't picking up the slack.
"The 27-year-old recorded 611 yards and tied for the team lead in touchdowns with six last season. Quarterback Jordan Love (and backup Malik Willis) distributed the ball rather evenly amongst the corps which is what made the team rather deadly offensively. What contributed, however, to its playoff shortcoming was the lack of a top target and playmaker in clutch moments. Watson must become that in a potential breakout year or the front office will look elsewhere as its championship window could begin to narrow any year now."
For those who might be curious, Bundy's other three selections were defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo for the Chicago Bears, running back Isiah Pacheco for the Detroit Lions, and tight end T.J. Hockenson for the Minnesota Vikings.
But let's get back to Watson.
Christian Watson will have competition for the Packers' WR1 role in 2026
While I certainly don't disagree with Bundy choosing Watson here, I will disagree a touch with his assessment of Romeo Doubs being the Packers' WR1.
Yes, Doubs did lead Green Bay in both receptions (55) and receiving yards (724) this past year, also tying with Watson and tight end Tucker Kraft for the most receiving touchdowns (6), numbers that helped him land a four-year, $68 million deal with the New England Patriots. But that was a career year for him, which is why it was a bit surprising the Pats shelled out as much cash as they did.
In reality, the Packers' top receiver in the two seasons before this last one was Jayden Reed, who tallied 64 receptions for 793 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie in 2023 and 55 catches for 857 yards and six scores in 2024. Reed, of course, was limited to just seven games in 2025 due to injuries, but was still recently rewarded for his previous performance to the tune of a three-year, $50.25 million extension.
But I obviously see the point he was trying to make.
Watson, who himself was limited to just 10 games this past season after suffering a torn ACL in Week 18 of the 2024 campaign, has typically been that No. 2 guy in the rotation since coming into the league in 2022, but he's just never been quite able to progress into that top-tier category.
Now, as Bundy mentioned, Jordan Love has been a kind of "everybody eats" type of quarterback, so that does make it more difficult for Green Bay wideouts to post monster numbers. But one of the reasons Love has to do that is that there is no Davante Adams-like talent on this roster at the moment.
Now, Matthew Golden does have the talent to potentially be something close to what Adams was for Green Bay, and if the Packers decide to utilize him more than they did this past year, which they absolutely should, there's no question that Watson's touches could suffer, which obviously isn't what you want in a contract year.
With Watson missing the early part of last season, which was the final year of his rookie contract, the Packers did do right by him by giving him a one-year, $11 million extension last September. But as Bundy said, if Watson can't take things to the next level, he could be looking for a new home come next offseason.
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