Player: Deshaun Watson
Position: Quarterback
College: Clemson
Draft Review
Houston moved up from the 25th position to 12th overall with the Cleveland Browns, yielding its 2018 first-round pick in the process. This came on the heels of these two teams working out a deal back in March that resulted in the Texans sending Brock Osweiler and a second-round pick to Cleveland in what amounted to as nothing more than a salary dump.
In the end, the Texans seemingly got their franchise quarterback. They had been linked more to Pat Mahomes during the pre-draft process, but Kansas City jumped the 12th spot to select Mahomes 10th after trading with the Buffalo Bills.
Watson had been bandied about as a top-20 pick leading up to the draft. In fact, some experts had concluded that he was the top quarterback on the board. In the end, he went third behind Mitch Trubisky and the aforementioned Mahomes.
What the Scouts Say
"Teams will have to weigh the inconsistent field vision and decision-making against his size, athleticism, leadership and production. While not perfect, teams can add checks to both arm and accuracy boxes for Watson.
However, discussions about whether or not his areas of improvement can be corrected will likely determine whether a team will view him as a high-upside prospect or a franchise quarterback. Watson's transition from Clemson's offense to a pro-style attack will obviously take time, but his combination of intangibles and athletic ability make him worth a first-round selection."
NFL Media
The comparison here is to Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota. It makes sense considering Watson doesn't have the strongest arm but boasts the traits that made Mariota a Day 1 starter after he was selected No. 1 overall back in 2015.
With the highest floor and most college-level starting experience of any quarterback selected in the first round, Watson is the likeliest candidate to start as a rookie. We'll cover that a bit below.
Depth Chart Competition
By virtue of trading free-agent bust Brock Osweiler last month, Houston headed into the draft with only Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden under contract. Needless to say, they had to find someone that can compete for the starting job. And while head coach Bill O'Brien indicated after the draft that Savage is the starter, that's a hard statement to believe.
Savage has thrown a grand tota of 92 regular season passes in three years with the Texans. During that span, he has yet to throw a touchdown and is averaging just 6.4 yards per attempt. Savage is nothing more than a backup.
More than this, Houston exhausted a huge capital to move up for Watson. Teams don't trade first-round picks like they're a dime a dozen. The idea behind the scenes had to be to start Watson immediately. There's no reason to believe he won't be under center when Week 1 comes calling.
Fantasy Outlook
Watson is interesting in that he should be able to make a statistical imprint as a rookie. O'Brien's offense is catered to have success under center. Add in the presence of both DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller at wide receiver, and there's a lot to like here.
He's seemingly the only quarterback from the 2017 NFL Draft class that has re-draft value. We're not looking at QB1 material here. But if Watson were to start, there's no reason to believe he wouldn't be one of the top-24 fantasy quarterbacks in the league.
At this point, we're looking at more of a game manager. Potentially a ceiling of what we have seen from Alex Smith since he joined the Chiefs in 2013. A QB2 option with potential spot starter capabilities. Moving forward, Watson has to be valued as a potential top-10 fantasy quarterback.
When it comes to rookie drafts, we would likely have Watson as the QB1 ahead of both Trubisky and Mahomes. The idea there is a higher floor. All said, it wouldn't be a surprise if Watson's ADP in rookie drafts stood at six or seven. He might not have a huge ceiling, but there's no real reason to believe Watson can't succeed statistically in Houston.