Christian Watson

Testing on Christian Watson’s hamstrings revealed an asymmetrical stride was the cause of his persistent hamstring injuries.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said in March that Watson — who missed eight games in 2023 — was working with a “special lab” to figure out why he has sustained so many soft tissue injuries. Testing at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health showed Watson had a 20 percent muscle mass difference between his right and left leg. That difference has since been reduced to 8-10 percent. “For me, it really was the asymmetry between the legs,” Watson said this week after an OTA session. “It comes from a lot of things. Obviously, the issues I’ve had in the past with hamstrings, not fully recovering from those strength-wise. I’ve been attacking the strength side of it, trying to get that symmetry back and it’s been huge for me. I feel really, really good. I gotta continue grinding at it.” Green Bay coaches said Watson, 24, showed up to OTAs in great shape. ESPN’s Rob Demovsky said Watson “moved in and out of his breaks with explosiveness and without hesitation” during OTA practices. Jordan Love said a fully healthy Watson would bring a dangerous downfield element to Green Bay’s passing attack in 2024. Thirty percent of his 2023 targets came more than 20 yards downfield.