GREEN BAY — Christian Watson isn’t quite sure how many family and friends will be packing the Raymond James Stadium stands to support him on Sunday, but there’ll be enough that the Green Bay Packers top wide receiver had to delegate the ticket distribution. 

And in addition to the tickets Watson is buying, judging from his social media feeds and how many of his high-school buddies and other childhood friends attend Tampa Bay Buccaneers games when they aren’t playing the Packers, he’s expecting a hearty cheering section.

But he does have one requirement, especially for those who’ll be there on his dime:

“If I got the tickets, they’ve got to have a [No.] 9 jersey on,” Watson said with a laugh as the Packers (1-2) prepared for Sunday’s matchup with the Buccaneers (3-0). “But I know everybody will be wearing green and yellow.”

There were lots of folks dressed that way last time the Packers played in Tampa, back in 2022, when Watson was a rookie second-round pick from North Dakota State. But thanks to a hamstring injury he suffered at midweek, Watson was inactive for the game.  

The injury not only prevented his mom, Christa, and other family from seeing Watson play in their own backyard, it also meant that Watson missed out on a chance to play in the same stadium where he once played a pee-wee football game as a 7-year-old growing up in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. The stadium is just 10 minutes away from H.B. Plant High School, where Watson starred in football and track & field.

This time, though, Watson will be out there — and will be building on a strong start to a 2026 season that has been a little light on highlights during the first three weeks.

Watson enters the game having caught 17 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Packers in all three categories. He ranks 16th in the NFL in receptions, fifth in yardage and third in TD catches.

Since returning to action midway through last season from the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee he suffered in the 2024 regular-seasons finale, Watson has now caught 52 passes for 895 yards and 10 touchdowns on 84 targets in 13 games.

“I think probably when you go through something like [a torn ACL], you have a different perspective and a different hunger — when you have to sit and watch and not play and watch your guys go out there and compete,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said at midweek.

“He’s always been pretty dialed in. He’s always been a pretty motivated kid, so I think just as he gets more experience playing, he just keeps getting better and better.”

Even more impressive is that Watson has been able to be this productive — and quarterback Jordan Love has been able to get him the ball so frequently — despite an offensive line that has allowed near-constant pressure on the QB in the first three weeks.

In film sessions, Watson has seen plenty of other snaps where opportunities were there for big plays — if only Love had gotten slightly better protection on those plays. Given the overhaul underway on the line following the signings of Kevin Zeitler, Laken Tomlinson and Mekhi Becton, those plays might turn into something with improved protection.

“Oh yeah, 100% But I think that they’ll be the first ones to tell you that that they’ve got to be better in that aspect,” Watson said of the linemen. “There’s plays where obviously stuff is there, but there’s also plays where they would be good in protection and we weren’t necessarily doing our best job down the field.

“So, it’s tough to point fingers. I think everybody knows what they need to get better at, where our flaws are at as a team.”

If those plays do materialize, Watson will continue to put up big numbers—and, he hopes, do it while winning games.

“I mean, it sounds cliché, but it’s hard for me to find a lot of joy in that when it’s not contributing to a win or contributing to our team getting the job done,” Watson said. “That’s just how I’ve always been. I just want to win football games.

“I’m definitely grateful for the fact that I’ve been able to have the impact that I’ve had. I’m just looking forward to having that impact, and obviously it resulting in a win for us too. So I’m just looking forward to that.”

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