Packers.com has consulted more than two dozen mock drafts from reputable national outlets and compiled a list of players most frequently mocked as draft selections in the bottom half of the first round (picks 16-32) who would fit Green Bay's potential roster needs.
Between now and draft day, when the Packers own the No. 22 and 28 overall selections in the first round, those players will be profiled with thumbnail sketches and videos known as "Prospect Primers."
Today's player is …
Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State
Height/Weight: 6-4, 208
Key stats: Responsible for a 20-plus yard gain 57 times in 180 total touches (rushes, receptions, returns) over his four-year career, or one of every three times he had the ball. Averaged 20.4 yards per reception on 105 career catches (for 2,140 yards and 14 TDs).
College honors: Named second-team FCS All-America by the Associated Press at receiver in 2021, following first-team honors as a kick returner in 2020, when he brought back two kickoffs for TDs.
Background/other info: Watson tore up the Missouri Valley Football Conference for the better part of the last three years while winning multiple FCS national championships at North Dakota St. He's a big-play guy who ran, caught and returned the ball in explosive ways with physical dimensions and athletic traits that were unmatched at his level. Last season, he caught four TD passes of at least 65 yards, finishing the year with 43 catches for 801 yards and seven TDs in 12 games, totals that would have been much higher had he not missed the Bison's first three playoff games due to a hamstring injury. The year before, he posted kickoff returns of 100 and 94 yards for scores. As a sophomore in 2019, in a national semifinal playoff game, he caught a 75-yard TD pass and ran for a 70-yard score on back-to-back offensive plays. The unknown is how well, and how quickly, his game will translate to the NFL with such a big jump in competition, but he eased some concerns when he recorded a 4.36-second time in the 40-yard dash and a 38½-inch vertical jump at the scouting combine.
