Joe Burrow
vs Christian Watson

“Bengals Bengals QB Joe Burrow had 58 passing attempts in the loss to the Jaguars on Sunday, but feels that the team can throw it even more going forward.”

“Burrow had an underwhelming opener, but he’s tallied 489 passing yards (244.5 per game), 7.45 adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A), five passing touchdowns, and zero interceptions in two subsequent contests, scoring 19.88 DraftKings points per game and 19.88 FanDuel points per game in the last two weeks. The Bengals lost a shootout last week, and the Jaguars have the firepower to push Burrow into a ceiling performance through the air. His top passing-game weapon will be featured in the core studs.”

“Joe Burrow may not be a must-start this week, but Chase Brown , Ja’Marr Chase , and Tee Higgins are all auto-starts.”

“According to the Fantasy Points Data Suite 2.0, among 33 quarterbacks with at least 20 dropbacks, Burrow ranks: 13th in passing yards per game (230.5) 19th in adjusted net yards per pass attempt (6.14 ANY/A) Tied for 14th in passing touchdowns (three) 10th in expected passing touchdowns (3.5) 21st in rushing yards per game (9.5) Interestingly, the Bengals are just fifth in pass rate over expected (6.3% PROE) this year. That’s still pass-happy, but Cincinnati tied for first in PROE (7.9%) from 2023 through 2025. Their defense is better, and the washed-up, Aaron Rodgers -led Steelers are unlikely to push Burrow and Cincinnati’s offense into a shootout.”

“Joe Burrow nearly gifted Tampa Bay a pick-six, the Buccaneers heavily guarded Chase, and Burrow simply could not connect with his WR1. That extra attention also opened things up elsewhere: TE Mike Gesicki finished with five catches for 78 yards and a TD as Tampa Bay focused on containing Chase and Tee Higgins . Look, that does not completely let Chase off the hook.”

“Joe Burrow’s health has been a concern in recent years, but I’ll bank on him playing a full season with one of the easiest schedules in football. I believe 4,500 yards and 40 touchdowns are more than doable.”

“But if Bengals QB Joe Burrow, who missed nine games last season, enjoys a season of good health, McPherson should have his fair share of FG and PAT opportunities.”

“When Joe Burrow was healthy, he was a top-three quarterback last season”

“The pivot to more under-center passing won’t be as natural and certainly might not be anywhere near as successful for the Bengals, because Burrow clearly isn’t as comfortable and doesn’t perform as well. In fact, if we go back the last three years, Burrow’s under-center dropbacks average just 3.6 air yards, which ranked dead last: #69 out of 69 qualifying QBs. His time to throw of 2.81 seconds was the #5 fastest out of 69 QBs, and he threw just 17% of passes 10+ yards downfield, also ranking dead last.”

“Zac Taylor wants the Bengals to play more from under center in 2026. Unfortunately, Joe Burrow under center is precisely where this offense struggles most, which is why the Bengals haven't used it often of late. How much the Bengals choose to pivot to under-center passing and how much Burrow can improve on these dropbacks might have a large impact on their fortunes in 2026.”

“Overvalued: Joe Burrow, Quarterback (QB4, Pick 59 OVR) Now, this isn’t to say that I don’t like Joe Burrow, or that I don’t think that Joe Burrow is a talented player; I just think that Joe Burrow is capped insofar as he doesn’t rush at all, and the Bengals’ offensive line isn’t strong enough for him to be a consistent top-four player without the rushing.”

“Of the top-10 quarterbacks based on LTV, Burrow is the one quarterback with little to no rushing upside, making him the quarterback I would want to trade away.”

“Knowing the current situation of Christian Watson , would you trade him away straight up for Matthew Golden ? – natedawg205 Answer: Oh look, another BOAT question, although this time we’re going from the 25-meter yacht to…well, a 20-meter one. The Ballers have waxed lyrical about both of these players this past week, and although Andy may have recommended trading Christian Watson away, I sure as heck would not advise packing him off in return for his teammate, even if Golden has seen more looks from Jordan Love on the year. Watson has more receptions (17-15), more yards (284-253), and most importantly…more TDs (4-1).”

“Christian Watson scored four TDs in three weeks, and a dip in TDs would be detrimental to Watson’s fantasy production.”

“Christian Watson caught 7 of 10 targets for 96 yards and a touchdown — Green Bay’s opening score of the game. His share of the offense fell sharply week over week, but that’s because Matthew Golden’s target count exploded and the team threw 20 more times than last week. Target share fell sharply (33.3% → 18.9% adjusted) even though his raw target count only dropped by one (11 → 10).”

“Christian Watson (TRUST) Watson has opened the season with games of 6-147-2 (8 targets) and 4-41-1 (11 targets). Watson has played 82.6% and 93.8% of the dropbacks in the first two games, with target shares of 20% and 37.9%. With Jayden Reed going down last week, this passing tree became more concentrated.”

“Christian Watson – 11 targets, 4 rec Watson has averaged just 4.9 targets/game over his career and played just 12 games per season over his first four seasons. At his current rate, he’s on pace for 162 targets in 17 games. Even if he does play the full allotment of games, that target total is probably a bit unrealistic, though he is clearly Green Bay’s alpha WR through two games.”

“Matthew Golden – 12 targets, 6 rec Christian Watson – 8 targets, 6 rec Jayden Reed – 7 targets, 3 rec Christian Watson and his two TDs stole the show, but Golden’s team-high 12 targets need to be noted. Last year’s first-round pick saw just 44 targets as a rookie, and never more than six in a single game. It is also worth mentioning slot WR Jayden Reed , whose seven targets were more than he saw in any game during his injury-plagued 2025 season.”

“Watson played 77.4% of the snaps, ran 81.4% of the routes, and had a 19% target share. Second-year wideout Golden had 85.5% of the snaps, ran 88.4% of the routes, and had a 28.6% target share. Reed was last with 58.1% of the snaps, ran 67.4% of the routes, and had a 16.7% target share.”

“Christian Watson finished second on the team in targets behind Matthew Golden but finished with a 6/147/2 split on the heels of an 81-yard touchdown reception where he broke away from Vikings defenders. With the Packers’ run game being non-existent, expect more pass-heavy scripts from Watson and Co. moving forward. Stud:”

“Christian Watson got the bag this offseason and should be considered the clear WR1 for the Green Bay Packers. Watson deserved the payday as he proved that he can handle this role last year. Last season, in Weeks 8-18, he was the WR21 in fantasy points per game with an 18.2% target share, 61.1 receiving yards per game, 2.67 yards per route run, a 23.9% first-read share, and 0.122 first downs per route run.”

“Christian Watson (WR – GB) Christian Watson earned a new contract this offseason and should enter 2026 as the Packers’ clear WR1 after proving last year that he could handle the role.”

“Last season, Watson was the WR15 on a points-per-game basis among wide receivers with at least nine games played, averaging 13.2 PPR fantasy points per contest despite averaging only 5.5 targets per outing. Unfortunately, the former North Dakota State star only played in 10 games after missing the first seven weeks recovering from a torn ACL.”