Packers Draft Grades – Christian Watson and Sean Rhyan

The first two days of the 2022 NFL Draft are complete, with Rounds 4-7 taking place tomorrow. The Green Bay Packers entered the draft with obvious holes and a large collection of draft picks to fill them. The Packers draft picks have been met with mixed feelings and different Packers draft grades amongst the fanbase. On Friday, the Packers selected Christian Watson and Sean Rhyan.

We knew the Packers wouldn’t draft a wide receiver in the first round. However, they didn’t not waste any time on Friday, trading up to the 34th pick to draft Watson, a wide receiver out of North Dakota State. With their third-round pick, the Packers addressed the offensive line by taking Sean Rhyan out of UCLA.

Let’s hand out more Packers draft grades by taking a closer look at their Day 2 picks.

Green Bay Packers Draft Grades

Round 2, Pick 34 – Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State

Christian Watson is a 6-4, 208-pound wide receiver that clearly has the build to become a solid outside wide receiver in the NFL, which is a hole the Packers had. He is an elite all-around athlete, performing as one of the best pre-draft testers ever. Watson is smooth, has great acceleration and he clearly has a big catch radius. However, he is yet another project for the Green Bay Packers, and they haven’t shown the ability to truly develop wide receivers.

His route-running is raw. He also consistently miss-times leaps for catches, and he lacks focus at the catch, leading to drops. In college, Watson never used his size to his advantage, and this was at NDSU. This will be made worse in the NFL. If you desperately miss Marquez Valdes-Scantling, then you’re happy about this pick. If you were happy to see him go, you should have the same energy for Watson, who looks to be a similar player right now.

The good part is that, from those I have spoken with, he is an extremely hard worker and is coachable. That hasn’t been the case with all former Packer receivers that didn’t pan out. So, I have hope, just not for this season.

Green Bay Packers Draft Grades: B-

The Packers draft grade has to take everything into account. It’s more than just a second-round pick for Christian Watson. It’s giving up their other second-round pick to do it. Not only that, they helped out their only threat in the division to do it.

Do I think Watson can become a solid WR2? Yes, but it won’t be this season. He has a lot of potential and clearly fills a hole the Packers have. However, it’s not a pick that puts them much closer to winning a Super Bowl this season, and we gave up a valuable pick. The Packers cannot continue assuming the sun will come up tomorrow. At some point, they need to try to win.

Round 3, Pick 92 – Sean Rhyan, OL, UCLA

This pick could go in multiple directions. I’ll start by saying I like Sean Rhyan. Again, I think there were betting offensive line prospects available, but it is what it is. Let’s first solely talk about the player.

Rhyan was a starter at left tackle for the Bruins. He packs a powerful punch and is very aggressive. Sometimes too aggressive, but I would rather have that than the other way around (looking at you, Royce Newman). He had a lot of success in pass protection in college as well, but being only 6-5 and being at the 10th percentile in arm length, there’s no way he can play tackle in the NFL.

So, good news, he looks like a guard and can play like a great guard at the NFL level. This looks to be yet another draft pick the Packers made with the mindset of him playing a different position. However, the other scenario is that they drafted him to play right tackle, which would be a much worse idea.

In other words, the Packers have yet another, and say it with me, PROJECT on their hands. I hope their schedule is clear. Actually, the Packers aren’t competing for a Super Bowl this season anyways, so they have plenty of time.

Green Bay Packers Draft Grades: A-

I like the player and I don’t hate the pick. It also clearly fills a hole. Knowing the Packers aren’t competing for a Super Bowl, I like the pick more. However, if you are still of the mindset that we are “all in,” then this pick should upset you.

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2022 Packers Draft Picks

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