Packers' Christian Watson Had 20% Gap in Leg Muscle Mass amid Hamstring Injuries

Christian Watson has struggled with hamstring issues during his NFL career, and a lack of symmetry in his leg muscles likely was the culprit.

According to ESPN's Rob Demovsky, Watson had a 20 percent difference in muscle mass between his two legs back in 2021. The gap is now just 8-10 percent.

"For me, it really was the asymmetry between the legs," Watson said. "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."

Watson is hoping to get the difference in his two legs down to about six percent.

"I was obviously a little bit down in my right leg [compared] to the left," he said. "One, it puts strain on the left side, and the left is going through a lot more. And then two, obviously when you're trying to be equal in power, it obviously puts a lot more stress on the one that's not as strong. So that's been the No. 1 thing for me because that leads to fatigue as well. It's a bad place to be, so obviously that's been my No. 1 goal to just kind of eliminate that."

The result of his muscle mass asymmetry was Watson missing 11 games in his first two seasons due to right hamstring tears. When healthy he's shown major promise, catching 69 passes for 1,033 yards and 12 scores across 23 contests.

The Packers have an intriguing young wideout core, led by Watson, Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs. The team also signed star running back Josh Jacobs in free agency and has second-year tight end Luke Musgrave all supporting ascendant quarterback Jordan Love.

None of Love's weapons have the big-play potential of Watson, however, who gives the team a true field-stretching deep threat. If he can stay healthy, the Packers are a scarier proposition for defenses.

"That's the key, is trying to stay healthy throughout the season, so we can have him out there every game, which is something I know he's working hard on," Love said. "He's a difference-maker when he's out there. He's a playmaker. Just having all our weapons out there is key."