Former North Dakota State wideout Christian Watson was one of the many winners during this year’s scouting combine, showing off his rare combination of speed and size. During the 2022 NFL Draft, Watson landed with arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers.

Expectations are high for Watson, as Green Bay is banking on the NDSU product to pick up some of the slack left behind by Davante Adams.

ESPN recently released their stat projections for the upcoming season and they had some pretty lofty expectations for the rookie, predicting that Watson will haul in 53 receptions on 85 targets for 709 yards and six touchdowns.

Their reasoning:

“Watson was selected by Green Bay in the second round of April’s draft. The North Dakota State product was one of the biggest winners at the combine, measuring in at 6-foot-4 with 10 1/8-inch hands while showing well in every athletic drill. The latter included a 4.36 40-yard dash and class-best 136-inch broad jump. Watson was utilized in a variety of ways during four seasons at NDSU. He was a vertical threat (career 20.5 YPR on 104 catches), ball carrier (49 carries) and kick returner (27 attempts). He played at a “small” school, but his outstanding combination of size, speed, athleticism and versatility makes him an intriguing prospect. He has a path to an every-down role in an elite Packers’ offense, as his top competition is oft-injured Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Sammy Watkins. Watson should be on your radar in the mid-to-late rounds.”

Although Watson is pretty raw as a wide receiver, his development should move at a rapid pace playing with a quarterback like Rodgers. He’ll also be surrounded by a handful of reliable veterans like Randall Cobb and Sammy Watkins to help take some of the pressure off.

If Watson cna shore up the small aspects of his game, like cleaner route running and add some more nuance to the way he gets open, he’ll be the No. 1 wide receiver in Green Bay in no time.