The Green Bay Packers didn't hesitate to let the first round of the NFL Draft go by without taking a wideout, not because they didn't need one but because they knew their guy was going to be available next.
However, they didn't take any chances and traded up in the second round to make sure they had their prized rookie, taking Christian Watson out of North Dakota State.
The Packers had been high on Watson for quite some time now. And even though there were some early reports about drops and whatnot, it seems like the rookie had quite an impressive spring.
When asked about his performances and development, Watson acknowledged that he's getting better and more comfortable with every day of practice:
"I definitely think I've been stacking days and getting better each and every day," Watson told the team's website. "Obviously, there's ups and downs but I definitely feel like I've come a long way. Obviously, I still feel like I have a ways to go, but I feel like that'll come with a couple weeks that we have off before training camp and I think I'll be good."
But it's not like the Packers are making things easy on him. If anything, they've paired him with star CB Jaire Alexander, who's locked him up a couple of times and vowed to do whatever it takes to make him a better player:
"I'm going to make it as hard as I can for those guys because I know on Sunday it's going to pay off. Iron sharpens iron," Alexander said. "However I can help to make them better, I'm going to do that."
Watson won't shy away from the challenge, though. He's embraced the competition and knows that he needs to go against the best if he wants to be among them:
"It only makes me better," Watson said. "He'll tell me straight up exactly why he broke on my route, exactly which indicator I gave on the route, and I know if I get open then I know it was a great route for me. It's definitely a great experience to get to go up against him and him obviously coaching me up, even though I'm on the other side of the ball."
The Packers still figure to end on top of their division. But ruling the NFC North has been far from enough for the Cheeseheads over the past decade or so.
They still need to turn the corner and put an end to their Super Bowl drought. But as impressive as Watson has been, this roster doesn't look better than last year's, and that's a big concern for the fans still.
