5 NFL rookies that could disappoint fans in 2022 season
Taking a look at five NFL rookies that could end up disappointing fans this season. Which rookies around the league are in tough situations?
It’s not uncommon for NFL fans to heap way too much pressure on incoming rookies. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty common practice. A lot of young players around the league that have seemingly become household names overnight have really spoiled the development process for a lot of guys.
Fans expect every young quarterback picked in the first round to be Justin Herbert and if the rookie struggles right away, not every fan base is willing to afford them time to develop.
The same could be said of any and every position group. Not every rookie receiver is going to dominate like Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson did in their rookie seasons. Not every rookie defensive player is going to fill up the stat sheet like Micah Parsons.
Because fans have super high expectations going into the season, which NFL rookies around the league could end up as disappointments to their respective fan bases? I want to take a look at five names I think should be under consideration here.
NFL rookie that could disappoint in 2022 no. 5: Christian Watson, WR, Packers
Pick Analysis. Christian Watson. 49. Scouting Report. WR. Packers. 5. player
One rookie that I think is setting up to be a major disappointment in the eyes of fans early on is Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson, a high second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of North Dakota State. Watson is a good young player. He’s got outstanding size and speed and I think he has a very bright future.
With that being said, he’s got a few things going against him at the moment. First and foremost, fellow rookie receiver Romeo Doubs, a fourth-round pick for the Packers, has been absolutely lighting up training camp. Watson, though? Well, he hasn’t practiced.
"The biggest challenge for me was accepting that fact in the beginning but I've kind of gotten past that and gotten in that positive mental state." Christian Watson on what it's been like watching from the sidelines. pic.twitter.com/GXjd31iAVa
— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) August 10, 2022
The Packers traded up and they paid a pretty hefty price to move up and get Watson. They took him over a player that many Packers fans were hoping the team would go after in the first round: Georgia wide receiver George Pickens. Pickens ended up going later in round two to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he’s been the talk of Steelers training camp thus far.
It’s very early in the careers of these young receivers but there’s no doubt that Packers fans will probably feel validated in their opinions of Pickens if he balls out with the Steelers while Watson works his way back from injury.