Christian Watson is now one of the better paid wide receivers in the NFL, after the Green Bay Packers handed him a four-year, $110.5 million extension on Thursday.
The 2025 season, in which Watson played the best football of his career despite returning from an ACL tear, is likely in large part what convinced Green Bay to open up the check book.
He elevated his game from primarily a deep threat to a more well-rounded receiver and one who showed he is capable of spearheading a passing attack.
Here are Watson’s percentile ranks compared to his fellow NFL receivers in his first three years, compared to 2025:
One of the first things to notice is that Watson became more of a high volume receiver last season. In 2023 and 2024, he ranked in the 45th percentile on average in targets per route, but jumped all the way up to the 69th percentile in 2025.
Watson’s 90th percentile ranking in yards per route run (Y/RR) was a career high, but generally he has always done well in this metric. The more impressive thing was putting up that ranking while also seeing an uptick in his usage, as it is easier to be efficient on fewer routes/targets.
The Packers gave Watson more opportunities to be a chain-moving wide receiver, rather than just a field stretcher, and he rewarded them.
He posted an 83rd percentile ranking in first downs per target, by far his best in a season, and cut down on drops, with just one on 62 targets.
Watson ranked in the 83rd percentile in Y/RR on short routes, up from a 29th percentile ranking across the previous two seasons. Matt LaFleur allowed Jordan Love to embrace the out route as the season went on, and Watson was one of the beneficiaries.
His average depth of target (ADOT) and yards per reception ranks remained high, as Watson is still at his most dangerous downfield, where he creates explosive plays with ease, but he showed he can be more than that in 2025.
The rate at which Watson has been targeted in the 10-20 yard area has increased each year, and although his Y/RR on intermediate routes was middle of the pack in 2025, it is further evidence of Green Bay’s increasing confidence in him when running ‘real’ wide receiver routes.
Another indicator is his reduced impact as a YAC threat over time, as he is not being used as a gadget option these days.
As displayed by his improved rank in Y/RR on deep routes, Watson has become more of an efficient vertical threat over time. His average rank in the 70th percentile for Y/RR deep is up from the 32nd percentile as a rookie and the 42nd percentile in 2023.
Watson has always been a bit of a cheat code when opponents deploy man coverage, and his strength in that area remained in 2025, but he has made huge strides in terms of effectiveness against zone.
In 2023, he was in the 50th percentile in Y/RR versus zone. That improved to the 71st percentile in 2024 and the 95th percentile last year, as he ranked fifth overall among 107 eligible receivers.
The Packers are not paying him $27 million per year to run block, but Watson has also been a crucial part of Green Bay’s offense in that regard, which is important to LaFleur. His PFF run block grade ranked in the 71st percentile in 2025, compared to the 42nd percentile in 2023 and 2024 combined.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: How Christian Watson became $27M receiver: Numbers behind 2025 jump
Reporting by Mark Oldacres, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mark Oldacres, Packers Wire | USA TODAY Network
