Packers insider reveals reason behind Christian Watson's unusual hamstring injury issues
Christian Watson missed a large portion of the 2023 season, allowing for Jayden Reed to turn heads. However, the bonus targets for Reed might not be duplicated in 2024. That's because the unusual cause for Watson's hamstring injuries has been discovered.
At least, that is what Packers insider Rob Demovsky believes is the case following conversations with Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur. Demovsky writes that LaFleur said Watson had a 20% difference in muscle mass between his right and left legs. In other words, it appears that one leg was stronger than the other, causing the injury when running.
Since discovering the issue, LaFleur has said that his mass has cut down to difference to half of what it was. There is now between an 8% and 10% difference between legs. However, Watson doesn't want to stop there. He wants to drop the difference to about 6% through the season.
Of course, this prompts questions as to why the difference grew in the first place. Conventional thinking dictates that Watson had at some point worked out one leg more than the other through an exercise, which created the difference. Then, paying attention to the difference in mass, the wide receiver kept a closer eye during leg day.
One would think that the alternative solution instead of weakening one leg would be to strengthen the other one. However, the wide receiver took the clearer path to getting the legs equal and now the goal would seem to be to build up both legs equally in the future.
Christian Watson joins star-studded list of FCS NFL players with injury issues
Not many players graduate from the FCS level into the NFL, especially with the pedigree of Watson. Cooper Kupp, Carson Wentz, Trey Lance, and Watson serve as the majority of recent FCS selections to reach the professional level.
However, the same issue has surrounded the most well-known names from the level. While Cooper Kupp has set records and Carson Wentz helped his team win a Super Bowl in a significant way, the majority of stars that come from the FCS run into injury trouble.
Kupp missed most of the 2022 season and the first quarter of the 2023 season. Carson Wentz and Trey Lance both ran into attendance issues early in their careers. Now, Christian Watson faces injury problems of his own. Will the Packers wide receiver manage to stay on the field in 2024?