Who Should I Start? Christian Watson or Tez Johnson

Monday, October 6, 3:48 PM

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (knee) was back on the practice field on Monday for the first time since tearing his ACL in the Week 18 regular-season finale in 2024. The Packers opened Watson's 21-day practice window for them to activate him from the Physically Unable to Perform list, but he only went through individual drills in his first practice back. "Today I felt like I was 100%," Watson said. It's unlikely that Watson will make his 2025 debut in Week 6 against the Green Bay Packers, but the team will need to officially activate him within the next three weeks, or he'll be lost for the entire season. The 26-year-old has had trouble staying healthy early in his career, but he provides quarterback Jordan Love with an explosive deep threat when he's healthy. Expect Green Bay to ease him in once he's activated, but that doesn't mean he's not worth stashing in fantasy leagues in the meantime. The Packers' WR corps will be even more crowded upon Watson's return, with Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, rookie Matthew Golden, Savion Williams, and Malik Heath all vying for targets. Jayden Reed (collarbone, foot) is currently on Injured Reserve.

Wednesday, October 8, 12:47 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie wide receiver Tez Johnson had his best game of his young career in Week 5 at Seattle, catching all four of his targets for 59 yards. Johnson nearly doubled his previous high in route participation, running a route on 53% of dropbacks in Week 5 after being at 27% the previous week in the first game Mike Evans missed. The rookie out of Oregon is very small at 5'10" and 154 pounds, but he is super shifty and quick in and out of his breaks. He looked the part out there in his first game with a significant snap share. He's a fairly specific type of player and won't ever run a full number of routes, but he is an intriguing waiver wire option in deeper leagues to consider in the short term while Evans is out.