Packers need Christian Watson more than ever ahead of "make-or-break" 2026 season

The Green Bay Packers will return nearly the same wide receicer roster in 2026, aside from Romeo Doubs, who departed for the New England Patriots this offseason.

Doubs' exit puts a ton of pressure on Green Bay's young receivers to step up for quarterback Jordan Love this year, especially Christian Watson.

Watson is entering his fifth NFL season and is slated to be one of the Packers' top receivers, along with Jayden Reed and 2025 first-round pick Matthew Golden.

However, unlike in previous years, there is newfound pressure for Watson to produce and be a reliable target in Matt LaFleur's offense.

Watson entering "make-or-break" season

In an article detailing players on NFC North teams entering make-or-break seasons, Fansided's Austen Bundy chose Watson for the Packers.

"Quarterback Jordan Love 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," Bundy said.

Watson has all the talent in the world and also possesses excellent size at 6-foot-4. However, injuries have held him back so far in his career, including a torn ACL suffered at the end of the 2024 season, which sidelined him for the first seven games of the 2025 season.

When on the field, Watson is a dynamic playmaker who has even shown signs of superstardom. In 10 games last season, the 27-year-old tallied 35 receptions for 611 yards and six touchdowns. With four of those scores coming from 20 yards out or more, Watson established himself as the primary deep threat in the Packers' offense.

Now in 2026, with Doubs out of the picture, Watson has the opportunity to earn the No. 1 receiver job for the Packers and finally put together his long-awaited breakout season in a contract year.

The NDSU product has tallied three 600-yard seasons, but the Packers need more production than that this year. Watson is going to be heavily relied on in the passing attack, and if he can put it all together in 2026, we'll see fireworks in Green Bay this upcoming season.