The 2022 Green Bay Packers are an odd football team, and odd football teams usually create fascinating statistical discoveries.
Here’s a wild stat: rookie receiver Christian Watson has as many total touchdowns this season as running backs Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon combined.
Last year, Jones and Dillon scored 17 total touchdowns. Through 13 games, the running back pair has just nine – the same amount as Watson has scored in just seven games.
Another stat to highlight the point: Watson, who ran in a 46-yard touchdown on Sunday in Chicago, has as many rushing touchdowns (two) as Jones in 2022.
Of course, Watson has gone on a touchdown-scoring binge over the last four games, finding the end zone eight times in the last month. He has nine touchdowns on 30 touches, a ridiculous scoring percentage of 30.0%. Jones and Dillon have nine touchdowns on 378 touches, creating a scoring percentage of 2.4%.
Watson has been on the field for all of 330 snaps; Jones and Dillon have combined for 920.
Jones scored rushing touchdowns in Week 2 vs. Chicago and Week 10 vs. Dallas. That’s it. He does have four receiving touchdowns, but Jones will be hard-pressed to extend his three-year streak of scoring at least 10 total touchdowns.
Dillon scored his third rushing touchdown of the season on Sunday at Soldier Field, but he’ll probably be hard-pressed to match last season’s seven total touchdowns.
It doesn’t help that Jones and Dillon have only received 33 carries in the red zone this season. Jones, with 21 red-zone rushes, has the same amount of carries inside the 20 as Bears quarterback Justin Fields.
And here’s another crazy stat: Dillon and Jones have just five total carries inside the 5-yard line, including just one for Jones. The pair has just one touchdown from inside the five.
Since Week 10, the Packers have scored 13 total touchdowns. Watson has eight of them. Watson also has the team’s four longest offensive touchdowns of the season.
For this Packers team, the dynamic rookie receiver is the big-play threat and the new touchdown machine.
