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Home > Bison Media Zone > First-round draft buzz grows around former Bison receiver Watson
Podcast: Bison Media Zone
Episode:

First-round draft buzz grows around former Bison receiver Watson
Category: Sports & Recreation
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2022-03-30 16:58:43
Description: FARGO Former North Dakota State wide receiver Christian Watson is continuing to generate first-round buzz with the NFL Draft about a month away.

This time NFL Network analyst Bucky Brooks has Watson projected to go late in the first round of the draft, which is set for April 28-30 in Las Vegas.



Brooks, a former NFL defensive back who was a second-round selection in the 1994 NFL Draft, had the Green Bay Packers selecting Watson at No. 28 overall in his most recent mock draft.



"If the Packers break from tradition and add a pass-catcher in Round 1 for the first time since 2002, Watson could be the pick as a long, rangy player with speed and sticky hands," Brooks wrote this week.




About a week ago, NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah also projected Watson to get selected in the first round at No. 30 overall by the Kansas City Chiefs.



NFL.com analyst Maurice Jones-Drew, a former star NFL running back, recently projected Watson in the first round. Jones-Drew projected Kansas City to select the 6-foot-4, 209-pound Watson at No. 29 overall soon after the Chiefs traded receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins.



"Tyreek Hill is now in South Beach," Jones-Drew wrote. "So why not bring in a guy who ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine? Watson is a great route runner who can stretch the field and a playmaker with the ability to contribute in many ways."



Watson has a strong showing at the Senior Bowl college all-star game and the aforementioned NFL Scouting Combine. He also participated at NDSU's annual pro day last week.



“It’s really just been perfecting my craft and continuing to expand upon the things that I’ve been doing," Watson said after NDSU's pro day.


https://twitter.com/NDSUfootball/status/1507113274910732299?s=20&t=-EMg8Y7LF3R0o1c8yq4uqA

Watson did 18 reps at 225 pounds in the bench press at Bison pro day and also was clocked at 6.96 seconds in the three-cone drill and 4.19 seconds in the shuttle. He didn't run the 40 after posting a 4.36 seconds at the combine.



According to Next Gen Stats draft model, Watson was one of the five prospects to earn a max-99 athleticism score at the Combine.



"Everyone at NDSU knew he was a freak, but you obviously know coming out of an FCS school some guys have those huge questions marks," said former Bison defensive end Brayden Thomas. "Him being able to go out there and prove himself is awesome. I'm jacked for him. I hope everything works out the way he wants it to."



Jim Nagy, the executive director of the Senior Bowl, also recently posted on social media that Watson should be a lock to be a top-50 selection in the NFL Draft. The first round is 32 picks.


https://twitter.com/JimNagy_SB/status/1507050924702842886?s=20&t=Ku02UZPsByjz0xag3-3VPA

"After great week in Mobile & all-timer Combine numbers ... Watson should be (a lock) Top 50 pick," Nagy wrote on his official Twitter account recently.



Watson played in 52 games during his NDSU career, catching 105 passes for 2,140 yards and 14 touchdowns, averaging 20.4 yards per reception. He played for three NCAA Division I FCS national championship teams in four seasons. In 2021, he had 43 receptions for 801 yards and seven touchdowns.



Watson said NFL talent evaluators wanted to see him against some of the top FBS prospects during the pre-draft process.



“I always claim that we played against really talented players, but obviously they want to see us go up against the best of the best," Watson said. “There were definitely a few question marks that I definitely had to check off and eliminate throughout the process.”



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