Round 2 Pick 34; Christian Watson, WR, NDSU

[Refugee]

37 minutes ago, TheEagle said:

 One knock on him was that he probably could have conditioned himself better but that he really didn’t need to vs the small school competition that he was already dominating.

———

I agree with your overall take, but where have you seen that knock? I would be shocked if that were true. Just looking at him that seems far fetched. You don’t play at NDSU without being dedicated in the weight room, and WRs don’t play if they don’t block. Two people relatively close to me (nephew of an in law and friend of a niece) from the Twin Cities went to NDSU on a football scholarship and left because they couldn’t handle the work required to play there.

Ross Uglem has been effusive about his work ethic.

I’m sure all of these guys are doing things mere mortals can’t and don’t, but he is now stepping into the highest level and he hasn’t been there before. 

This was a scout from a McGinn article, pg 19 of this thread:

AFC scout: “Very intelligent but does not consistently apply himself. Still has maturing to do showing up to meetings on time. Not a leader because of his own inconsistent work habits. Has missed special teams meetings but owns it and is growing up … Showed up to campus weighing 185 and could be 215 but he’s a picky eater. I believe he’ll ultimately figure it out and step into his potential when his pay check is on the line, although it may be a steep learning curve for him to figure it out.”

All with a grain of salt, and Bob always brings extra salt,  but there is at least some buzz that he wasn’t maximizing his physical potential although I’m sure he wasn’t coasting  on the couch eating Cheetos. In some ways, that means he can unlock another level if he gets a boost from being in an NFL locker room with the training and competition that comes with it. 

Edited May 10, 2022 by Refugee

[ThatJerkDave]

I don't understand the MVS slander.  He was a great pick for us in the fifth round.  To get MVS rookie production from any of our rookies this year should be a win.  He had 581 yards and 2 TDs.  Do we hope that Watson is better? Yes.  But stop selling MVS short.  Also note that his production would probably increase if Davante was not taking a huge percentage of targets.  In MVS's four years in Green Bay, Davante got:  169, 127, 149, and 169 targets.  MVS's catch percentage is low, but look at some of his "targets" that are clear throw aways.

 

Watson has the potential to be better.  I have seen the comparisons to Javon Walker.  That would be fantastic.  But as a rookie, let's put the bar at MVS's 600 yards and 2 TDs.

[TheEagle]

22 minutes ago, ThatJerkDave said:

I don't understand the MVS slander.  He was a great pick for us in the fifth round.  To get MVS rookie production from any of our rookies this year should be a win.  He had 581 yards and 2 TDs.  Do we hope that Watson is better? Yes.  But stop selling MVS short.  Also note that his production would probably increase if Davante was not taking a huge percentage of targets.  In MVS's four years in Green Bay, Davante got:  169, 127, 149, and 169 targets.  MVS's catch percentage is low, but look at some of his "targets" that are clear throw aways.

 

Watson has the potential to be better.  I have seen the comparisons to Javon Walker.  That would be fantastic.  But as a rookie, let's put the bar at MVS's 600 yards and 2 TDs.

I don't think anybody is slandering MVS, but he was a one trick pony (for the most part). He filled an important role. Ironically, I think we may have been worse without MVS than without Davante.

[JordanLoveFTW]

MVS ran a 4.37

from 20-40 yards he ran a 1.79

 

Watson ran a 4.36

from 20-40 yards he ran 1.91

 

 

MVS and Watson’s speed profiles are different. Watson has speed out of the gates 1.45 10 yard compared to MVS 1.55. But MVS shows better deep speed. 
 

What exactly this means, I’m not sure. But MVS was awfully good about getting deep separation. Maybe Watson will show improved early separation while not being as good running deep. 

[GHARMON9]

42 minutes ago, JordanLoveFTW said:

MVS ran a 4.37

from 20-40 yards he ran a 1.79

 

Watson ran a 4.36

from 20-40 yards he ran 1.91

 

 

MVS and Watson’s speed profiles are different. Watson has speed out of the gates 1.45 10 yard compared to MVS 1.55. But MVS shows better deep speed. 
 

What exactly this means, I’m not sure. But MVS was awfully good about getting deep separation. Maybe Watson will show improved early separation while not being as good running deep. 

The film is hard to use for Watson because I'm sure there's plenty of 4.6 DBs he is up against. But than man covers a lot more ground IMO with the ball in his hands. I'd bet he also plays faster than MVS.  Ryan Grant is an example I liked to use. he ran a 4.43, but once he got rolling he pulled away from everyone. I see the same with Watson.

[JordanLoveFTW]

52 minutes ago, GHARMON9 said:

The film is hard to use for Watson because I'm sure there's plenty of 4.6 DBs he is up against. But than man covers a lot more ground IMO with the ball in his hands. I'd bet he also plays faster than MVS.  Ryan Grant is an example I liked to use. he ran a 4.43, but once he got rolling he pulled away from everyone. I see the same with Watson.

Watson profiles as having more burst than long speed. I’m not sure which is better. 
 

Theoretically, Watson should be able to create more early separation. It’s like when he gets the ball in his hands and just explodes away from defenders. 
 

MVS on the other hand had more build up speed. 
 

It will be interesting to see how his athletic profile (10 yard burst, less long speed) translates to the field compared to MVS. 

[Sandy]

5 hours ago, JordanLoveFTW said:

Watson profiles as having more burst than long speed. I’m not sure which is better. 
 

Theoretically, Watson should be able to create more early separation. It’s like when he gets the ball in his hands and just explodes away from defenders. 
 

MVS on the other hand had more build up speed. 
 

It will be interesting to see how his athletic profile (10 yard burst, less long speed) translates to the field compared to MVS. 

Yep, different speed. I'm sure the coaches liked that. As they said about building a WR room, you want a guy who can create that separation for the short completions. That was what Adams did and it seems to be what they want from Watson.

I imagine they plan to use him completely differently than he was in college. 

[James Lofton]

I'll likely have an opinion about Watson in a few years.

[JordanLoveFTW]

33 minutes ago, James Lofton said:

I'll likely have an opinion about Watson in a few years.

You’re so far out on that limb, it’s making me nervous.

[CrazyJoeDavola]

23 hours ago, TheEagle said:

 One knock on him was that he probably could have conditioned himself better but that he really didn’t need to vs the small school competition that he was already dominating.

———

I agree with your overall take, but where have you seen that knock? I would be shocked if that were true. Just looking at him that seems far fetched. You don’t play at NDSU without being dedicated in the weight room, and WRs don’t play if they don’t block. Two people relatively close to me (nephew of an in law and friend of a niece) from the Twin Cities went to NDSU on a football scholarship and left because they couldn’t handle the work required to play there.

Ross Uglem has been effusive about his work ethic.

I too find this unlikely. NDSU has a strength and conditioning program as good as any in the country. There is no easy day. I saw the quote from a scout in the McGinn article and I read into it as the mental side needs more work not the physical because the physical portion is not an option. When I went to NDSU was the start of their D1 transition Snd the early days of Jim Kramer putting in his program and it was crazy what those guys would do. 

[thrILL!]

15 minutes ago, CrazyJoeDavola said:

I saw the quote from McGinn and I read it as the mental side needs more work. 

Bob def could use it.

[Dubz41]

On 5/9/2022 at 11:08 AM, OneTwoSixFive said:

While you have the odds on your side (that only about 40% of QBS taken in the first round succeed), this is a horrible take with nothing really concrete to back it up. You didn't like the pick at the time it happened so you double down on that, predicting failure before there is enough information to do that.

I'm not even sure of the throwaway statement "I hope I'm wrong" has much validity. You'd rather declare a winner before the race has run. It's your opinion, sure, but I don't think it's a good one. 

Now by the time this season has been run, we will probably all know if Love is a success or a bust. Let's wait until (as I said earlier), the race has been run.

Look for the rider with the black stripe down his white pants (hint: at the start of the clip look for the horse way back from the font four runners).

I think that horse is agenda driven.

[Dubz41]

On 5/9/2022 at 8:52 PM, NFLGURU said:

Agree, he's no Moss, he's not even close. Moss in his 2 seasons at Marshall scored 54 TDs and was 4th in the Heisman.

In 4 years, Watson scored 14 TDs, with a high drop rate, but that won't stop the hype train.

You usually post better,  this is a lazy take. 

How about, "Watson was never charged with assault."  Also, a lazy take.

[Norm]

Watson has a better RAS and that's all that matters in the NFL as we all know.

 

[Norm]

On 5/9/2022 at 11:00 PM, Refugee said:

but he’s a picky eater

I refuse to believe any of this **** is real anymore.

Might as well say he pees sitting down and has a pet cat.