The NFL doesn’t care about your story, your character, or what you can bring to a team. All the league cares about is whether or not you can play football at a high level. And for every great character guy like Carson Palmer or Kurt Warner who goes on to have a lengthy and successful career, there are plenty of players who had one good game and nothing else. Think about it this way – would you rather have an unproven rookie with potential or a proven veteran who has been in the league for several years? It’s not as simple as giving up on young players too soon (looking at you, Bill Belichick) because there is no perfect answer, but it’s something teams have to think about every time they sign a new player. With that being said, is Deshaun Watson Good? Let’s break it down.
Is Deshaun Watson Good?
Yes, Deshaun Watson is good. He was the 2017 NFL Rookie of the Year and led the Houston Texans to the playoffs. He has a strong arm and good accuracy, he can make plays with his feet, and he is a smart player who makes good decisions. He has a lot of potentials and should only get better with experience.
Why Is Everyone Talking About Deshaun Watson?
- The Texans won their first game of the season with Watson starting, which is a big deal.
- Watson’s numbers were good – 19/27 for 301 yards, 4 TDs, and 1 INT.
- Watson played well against the Titans, who are a playoff team in the AFC and have one of the league’s best defenses.
- Watson was able to lead his team back from a 20-3 deficit in the fourth quarter to win the game in overtime by completing 10 straight passes at one point. This is something no other rookie has ever done in NFL history (and he almost threw for 400 yards).
- Watson is a big reason why the Texans are even in the playoff hunt – he has thrown for 703 yards, 3 TDs, and no INTs in his last two games.
- Watson has only been sacked twice this season, which is a big deal considering his style of play. He doesn’t have a lot of pocket time, but he doesn’t get hit very often either and that’s a rare combination for a quarterback.
- Watson represents everything the NFL wants to see from a young player – he has impressed with his leadership abilities on the field and off it, including leading the team’s defensive effort against Tennessee (his team won despite him not throwing for 300 yards). He also has great character, which is always important in today’s NFL and can help players like Deshaun sell themselves to teams all over the league.
Why Is Everyone So Excited About Deshaun Watson?
1. He’s a great passer
This is pretty basic, but it’s important to remember. Watson is an elite passer and he has the ability to make all the throws. He can throw with touch, accuracy, and velocity. His arm strength is elite for his size and he can make all kinds of throws from every level of the field. He’s not just a “gunslinger” like you see from guys like Jameis Winston, who has trouble reading defenses or making good decisions at times. Watson can read defenses and find ways to exploit them with his arm talent and ability to make all the throws. He’s not just a guy who throws well on designed bootleg plays either – he can be deadly accurate on play-action passes when needed as well.
2. He has an explosive first step
Watson is explosive off the snap in both directions: upfield and downfield. He gets up to speed fast in both directions (especially when running bootlegs) because of the athleticism that allows him to get into throwing lanes quickly without sacrificing accuracy or velocity due to poor footwork or mechanics in general. When he does run for positive yardage, it comes quickly because of his top-notch acceleration (and some luck). That first step helps him get outside linebackers on their heels in the pocket before they get set up by his legs or feet as well as being able to keep defenders off balance after he gets the ball.
3. He has a strong arm
Watson has an elite arm for his size and he’s able to make all kinds of throws from every level of the field. His velocity is good enough to drive the ball downfield with accuracy, especially on deep passes, and his arm strength is solid enough that he can make all kinds of throws including those in tight windows. He’s not just a guy who throws well on designed bootleg plays either – he can be deadly accurate on play-action passes when needed as well.
4. He’s elusive in the pocket
Watson is a good athlete with great feet so it isn’t too surprising that he’s able to evade pressure and keep plays alive when needed while also being able to extend plays with his legs when things break down or aren’t going well. When things are working well, Watson can extend plays with his feet in order to buy time for receivers or himself before getting rid of the ball quickly once he gets into open space. Watson also has enough athleticism to avoid sacks by moving around in the pocket as needed so that he doesn’t have to run out of bounds (which could be bad). He also shows more athletic ability than most having been a high school track star who ran a 4.31 40-yard dash at Clemson which led him to be selected at #12 overall by Houston back in 2017.
5. He’s a smart and tough competitor
While not always the most athletic or flashy guy, Watson is smart and tough, which are great qualities for a quarterback. He knows how to get the ball out of his hands quickly, and he doesn’t make bad decisions or throws when things aren’t going well. Watson has shown a real ability to throw on the run as well as when under pressure, which is impressive because he doesn’t have elite arm strength but still makes good decisions when needed. He also has an excellent ability to move in the pocket and avoid pressure while keeping plays alive so that he can get rid of the ball quickly enough to avoid sacks (which is another thing I like about him). Watson also has a great ability to extend plays with his feet or hands after getting rid of the ball which helps keep plays alive and eventually leads to positive yardage on those plays that don’t end up in sacks or turnovers.
6. He keeps play actions alive
Watson does a good job of keeping play-action passes alive by extending plays with his feet or arms after getting rid of the ball so that he doesn’t lose yards (which could lead to negative yardage for Houston if they don’t convert) if things break down. In those plays, Watson is able to use his athleticism and quick decision-making at times to buy time until someone else gets open. Watson has also shown the ability to throw on the run as well as when pressured, which is impressive because he doesn’t have elite arm strength but still makes good decisions when needed. While he isn’t a very good deep passer, Watson has shown that he can make all of the throws in order to get rid of the ball quickly so that Houston can move downfield and win games.
Why Might Deshaun Watson Be Good?
1. He is a great leader and motivator
A big part of playing quarterback in the NFL is being a leader and a motivator. When you’re young, you have the opportunity to be a leader on the field, but as you get older and gain more responsibility, it becomes even more important. This season for the Houston Texans, Deshaun Watson has been leading by example both on and off the field. He’s been putting up good numbers as a passer while also setting an example for his teammates with how he carries himself both on and off the field. Basically, he’s doing everything that you want from your franchise quarterback.
2. He can make throws from everywhere on the field
One of the things that I love about Deshaun Watson is that he can make all types of throws from anywhere on the field. He can throw darts out of tight windows to receivers running wide open downfield or he can throw it up in front of him to make plays when defenders close in. That ability makes him very difficult to defend because no one knows where his next pass will come from – even if they know where he should be throwing it – because there are many different ways that he can attack defenses downfield (if you’re reading this article at work, stop reading now).
3. He has great chemistry with his receivers
The Houston Texans have some really talented wide receivers who could easily take over their offense if they had a quarterback who could throw the ball to them. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to find someone who can do that yet, but Deshaun Watson has been able to develop chemistry with his receivers in a short period of time. He’s been able to make plays out of nothing as they have developed chemistry with one another and he’s also been able to make big plays when they aren’t open.
4. He has great touch on deep balls
Another thing that I love about Deshaun Watson is his ability to throw the ball deep downfield. He can put the ball where only his receivers can get it and he does it very well. This is something that most quarterbacks struggle with and it’s something that you can tell a lot about a player when you see him make throws like this:
5. He doesn’t turn the ball over
This is one of the easiest things for NFL teams to evaluate and one of the hardest things for NFL teams to find on their own players (and I don’t mean this in a sarcastic way). When you are evaluating quarterbacks, you want someone who isn’t going to turn the ball over because then you know that they are going to be able to take care of their team when they need them most (you will want your quarterback in “take care of business mode” at some point, right?). At first glance, Deshaun Watson doesn’t look like he’s going to turn the ball over and I think that he has a good chance of being able to do that in the NFL.
Conclusion
Deshaun Watson had a fantastic season in 2017, but not everyone has jumped on the bandwagon. NFL analysts are a little more skeptical and have cooled on the 22-year-old quarterback. Why? Because they’ve looked at the numbers, the sample size, and the context of those numbers and haven’t seen a superstar. Deshaun Watson is a good football player, but he’s probably not a superstar. It’s important to remember that being a good player isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and being a superstar isn’t always a good thing. If we’re being honest, there are plenty of NFL teams who would love to have a quarterback as good as Watson. But when so many people are talking about a player, it can be hard to separate the fact from the fiction.
