Former NFL executive delivers big verdict on Aaron Rodgers' latest weapon on offense, Christian Watson
Aaron Rodgers was finally placated with the selection of Christian Watson by the Green Bay Packers on Friday night. The Packers traded up to the No. 34 pick, sending the No. 53 and No. 59 picks to the Minnesota Vikings to select the North Dakota State receiver in the second round.
Rodgers called out the Packers on The Pat McAfee Show following the first round of the draft after they selected two defenders—linebacker Quay Walker and defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt—instead of surrounding him with more offensive weapons. The team made amends with Christian Watson's selection.
The pick was lauded by former NFL executive Scott Pioli, who most recently served as the assistant general of the Atlanta Falcons.
Pioli sees Rodgers as the perfect quarterback to help bring the former Bison wide receiver along:
“I’m looking at Christian Watson and the Packers... You talk about elite quarterbacks making good wide receivers. He's at a position of desperate need. He's going to have to have production. And the best way that young receivers can develop is by having really good quarterbacks who help them develop. He's got all the skills, he's got all the tools. Aaron Rodgers knows that he's going to need him and going to have to use him. So to me, Christian Watson is going to be the person that makes a big immediate impact.”
Aaron Rodgers and Christian Watson are ready for their new partnership
Aaron Rodgers gave the Packers a nudge on Thursday night, explicitly talking about how Green Bay has had a strong history of providing him with weapons in the second and third rounds of the NFL Draft.
On Pat McAfee's SiriusXM and YouTube show on Thursday night, Rodgers offered his suggestion to the franchise that just decided to pay him $150 million this offseason :
"We've had a lot of success with second- and third-round receivers in Green Bay. You look at Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, James Jones in the third round [in 2007], obviously Davante Adams in the second round. Those guys turned out pretty good."
The selection of Christian Watson should appease the Packers quarterback. Watson indeed plans on doing everything possible for himself. He said:
"I'll say I'm ready to work, I'm ready to learn and I'm ready to get after it. I know [Rodgers is] gonna be tough on me and that's exactly what I want. I want someone who's gonna continue to push me to be the best possible player that I can be, and I know that with him being one of the greatest that he's gonna get everything out of me, so shoot, I'm gonna tell him I'm ready to work and shoot, I'm ready to go."
While Watson surely won't replace Davante Adams' production overnight, expecting him to one day reach the level of Randall Cobb or James Jones is well within reason.