The Packers lost a key offensive weapon this year by trading Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders. That didn't seem to worry Aaron Rodgers that much, until he publicly expressed concerns during training camp.
Though his comments made a lot of noise at first, things were later clarified in a team meeting. In the end, the only thing the veteran signal-caller intended to do was to hold everyone to a high standard.
When Rodgers called out his WRs, the Packers were a few weeks away from the 2022 NFL season opener against the Vikings. The trip to Minnesota is on Sunday, but a young wideout has given the four-time NFL MVP reasons for optimism.
Packers' young WR makes a great impression on Aaron Rodgers
"I might have to change Dave Bakhtiari's nickname, because this kid might be the new baby giraffe, or more like a deer because he's just prancing and flying around on the field," Rodgers said about rookie WR Christian Watson on The Pat McAfee Show, via CBS Sports.
"This dude's got incredible stride length. And really, for a man who is 6-foot-5, his speed is legit. It was nice having him. He's a different type of receiver than we've had. A guy that big with that type of stride length with that speed."
Having undergone knee surgery during the offseason, Watson joined the rest of his teammates in late August after being selected 34th overall by the Packers during this year's draft. Head coach Matt LaFleur admitted the North Dakota State product is just getting started, but also said he expects to count on Watson for Week 1.
"I think he's still got a lot to learn," LaFleur said. "We're trying to acclimate him as fast as humanly possible. We'll have a plan for him [for Sunday], and we'll kind of see where it goes."
