GREEN BAY – Christian Watson knew this day would come eventually.
Based on conversations with his agent during the offseason, the Packers receiver had a good feeling that a contract extension between him and the team would get done sooner than later.
Still, when the call finally came last week that a deal was in place for Watson to stay in Green Bay long term, he was immediately hit with a wave of astonishment and appreciation.
"It is definitely exactly where I imagined I'd be, but it still doesn't make it any (less) surreal when it does happen," Watson said. "I was definitely looking forward to this moment. It was definitely where I pictured myself, but for it to come to fruition, definitely it was crazy."
It's yet another mountain Watson has scaled during his improbable climb from the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision to the National Football League.
Over the past four years, Watson has gone from a second-round pick out of North Dakota State with intriguing gifts to one of the pillars of the Packers organization both on and off the field.
While the explosive plays were there for the 6-foot-4, 208-pound wideout since Day 1, Watson's rise up Green Bay's depth chart was more gradual than instantaneous.
He showed promise as a rookie in 2022 before a string of soft-tissue injuries cost him 11 regular-season games during his first two seasons. Answers came following a visit to Badger Medical Performance, but Watson was further tested when he tore his ACL in the 2024 regular-season finale against Chicago.
Instead of sulking, Watson surged. He attacked rehab head-on, frequently putting on a show for fans who watched his sideline workouts during training camp last summer.
Despite Watson starting the year on the PUP list, the Packers felt so strongly about his recovery they signed him to a one-year extension before he even returned to the field last fall.
Once he did in late October, Watson showed no signs of rust or regression. Instead of slowing down, he sped up. He caught 35 passes for 611 yards and six touchdowns in just 10 games, leading all qualifying NFL receivers with a robust average of 17.5 yards per catch over the final 11 weeks of the season.
"He embodies what we want to be about. I think he's a team-first kind of guy," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "Never once over the course of four years have I ever heard him complain about not getting the ball. He does all the little things the right way. He handles himself the right way."
As the Packers began charting their vision for offense in 2026 and beyond, there was little question Watson and fourth-year wideout Jayden Reed were focal points in those plans.
Reed, who signed his own extension with Green Bay in late April, was one of the first to learn Watson was on the cusp of a long-term deal as they walked to practice together last Thursday.
The impromptu conversation came sandwiched between Watson placing a phone call to his wife, Lakyn, and then his mother, Christina, to give them the news.
"I was ecstatic for him," Reed said. "Even when my deal was going on, we would talk a lot about it during the little OTAs practices that we had here. We kind of shared that information together throughout the whole process; he knew something about mine, I knew something about his. It was great seeing him earn his blessing. I'm very happy for him and his family."
The extensions lock in Green Bay's receiving corps for the foreseeable future, as Watson and Reed join 2025 draft picks Matthew Golden and Savion Williams atop the depth chart.
Watson acknowledges he could've rolled the dice and maximized his earning potential as an unrestricted free agent next winter, but loyalty and the Packers' longstanding interest made his decision simple.
This is where he's meant to be.
"Super happy for Christian," quarterback Jordan Love said. "Anytime anybody gets a contract extension, it's great news. It's just a testament to the work he puts in, the type of player he is, who he is in this locker room. I'm happy for him. Happy to get him for another four years."
Love and Watson have formed a potent one-two punch over the past three seasons. Add in a healthy Reed and a first-round pick like Golden and the Packers believe they have a nucleus in place to take the offense to the next level with Love under center.
With a bit of good fortune on the injury front, Watson sees a bright future ahead. Case in point, there are incentives worked into Watson's contract to increase his earning potential even further, a challenge he embraces while eyeing double-digit touchdowns and his first 1,000-yard season.
"I know what I'm capable of doing. I know what I'm capable of putting forward," Watson said. "I looked at it as a win for both sides, for me personally and the Packers. They gave me countless amounts of chances when it seemed like I shouldn't have had those chances anymore.
"Not to say that I'm paying them back for it or anything – I think we both won on the deal – and I've got an opportunity to still earn those dollars, guaranteed or not. I feel like I'm in a good spot."
There is some unfinished business in Green Bay, too. The Packers have made the postseason in each of Love's three years as starting quarterback but they've yet to advance past the divisional round.
Watson feels a burning desire to catapult Green Bay back to NFC supremacy. With so many young playmakers entering their prime, the newly extended receiver is ready to do his part to repay the franchise for its faith in him.
"I'm gonna be thankful every single day that I get to step out on that field," Watson said. "I'm gonna go out there every day with the mindset to continue to earn that contract, every single day."
