Houston Texans: Even Sherlock Knows Watson Should Start

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There are many reasons why the Houston Texans decided to move up in this year’s draft to acquire stand-out quarterback Deshaun Watson. There’s no doubt Houston had their eye on Watson as they traded away their 1st round pick in the 2018 draft to the Cleveland Browns to grab him. All you need to do is look at the man’s credentials and watch the film of him dominating top ranked defenses for two straight seasons at Clemson.

Deshaun Watson finished 3rd and 2nd respectively in 2015 and 2016 in the race for the Heisman Trophy. Many said he deserved to win the award in at least one of those seasons as he led the Tigers to back to back National Championship games. Watson and his Tigers lost the title match up against Alabama in 2015 by a ridiculous score of 45-40. Watson was incredible in that game where he threw for over 400 yards, four touchdown passes and even gained 73 yards on the ground. Clemson was the #1 ranked team at the end of the regular season.

The following year, the Tigers got their revenge against the Crimson Tide who was the #1 ranked team this time around. As those roles reversed so did the outcome in one of the most thrilling finishes in college football history. Watson hit Hunter Renfrow for the game-winner, his 3rd TD pass of the game, with only a couple of ticks left on the clock. Watson led his offense and they scored 35 points and he threw 420 yards against the top ranked defense in the country to win the college football National Championship.

Given Watson’s outstanding statistics and eye popping play making ability, I ranked him as the most NFL ready quarterback in the draft. The Chicago Bears thought otherwise and took Mitchell Trubisky with the 2nd overall selection. Even the Kansas City Chiefs moved up in the draft to get a quarterback with the 10th pick. They passed on Watson and took Patrick Mahomes instead. Nevertheless, I was surprised but I believe Watson ended up in the perfect place. Before the draft, I thought the Texans would trade up to the 1st or 2nd pick to acquire Watson. Either they lucked out, had the inside scoop, or just gambled their chances.

Deshaun Watson appears relatively small on television but that’s only because he stands next to giants that are 6’8 and weigh 375 pounds. The Texans QB is a big dude himself at 6’3 weighing 220 pounds. Not small at all!

The Texans drafted Watson hoping he’d become the quarterback of their franchise for the next 10 years. It’s time for him to start. Not because Tom Savage played poorly in their home opener loss to Jacksonville, but because they know Savage was just a hold over till Watson was ready. He’s ready. Sometimes you just have to put the best option on the field and forget their rookie status.

It’s the same old story for the Houston Texans. They have a great defense that always keeps them in games despite the despicable offensive performance they show every week. They make the playoffs and lose in the first round every year because they can’t put the ball in the end zone. The only reason they finally moved past wild card weekend last season was because the Raiders lost MVP candidate Derek Carr before the playoffs began. In the divisional round the Patriots smoked the Texans and now they’re back where they started.

The unfortunate part about starting Watson now is the horrendous play of the offensive line. You don’t want to put your franchise quarterback under center when that center and his fellow lineman can’t block. Not to mention their run game is certainly below average. It seems the best way to try and fix this is to start the Deshaun Watson era now! Why? For every reason mentioned above plus the fact that he can use his athletic ability to maneuver inside the pocket and break out for a long run. He can also extend plays given his mobility and we know that when a play breaks down anything can happen.

The kid racked up over 400 passing yards against the best defense in college football twice. Alabama is as close to an NFL defense as you’ll find in the collegiate ranks so I believe that’s a good barometer for his professional prognosis. The Texans are a playoff team and everyone and their mother know Tom Savage isn’t taking Houston to the promised land. We don’t know if Watson can either, but it’s about time we find out! Head Coach Bill O’Brien is on the hot seat and the decision to start Watson could save his job!