In news that should come as no surprise, Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith said that first round 2017 NFL Draft pick Deshaun Watson will have a chance to win the team's starting quarterback job this year. At the moment, Tom Savage is still the starting quarterback for the team with Brandon Weeden as his backup. However, the Texans traded up in the NFL Draft to choose Watson and will want to give him every chance to take over as the leader on the offense.
Tom Savage as the starting quarterback
The Houston Texans drafted Tom Savage in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
After that, the Texans rotated through a who's who of NFL quarterbacks and couldn't find one that seemed to have the winning attitude. Names like Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mallett, Case Keenum, Brian Hoyer, T.J. Yates, Brandon Weeden, and Brock Osweiler started games before Savage ever got his chance. In his two full games as a starter, Savage threw for 436 yards but didn't throw a touchdown while also not throwing an interception. In his third start, Savage suffered a concussion and his season was over with. Now, he may not get a chance for an encore thanks to the selection of Deshaun Watson in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Deshaun Watson: The next Michael Jordan
Deshaun Watson played college football at Clemson and his head coach Dab Sweeney has nothing but praise for the quarterback.
Sweeney said that whoever drafted Watson would have the next Michael Jordan when it comes to playmaking skills. The Houston Texans took that bet and traded up to the 12th pick of the 2017 NFL Draft to make sure they landed Deshaun. In three seasons at Clemson, Watson threw for 10,163 yards and 90 touchdowns. He threw 41 touchdown passes in 2016 but also threw 17 interceptions.
Most importantly, he played big in big games, actually beating the Alabama Crimson Tide to win the National Championship.
Houston Texans in no hurry to rush Deshaun Watson
For his entire career as the Houston Texans head coach, Bill O'Brien has tried to win with castoffs from other teams. He had his own young player and made Tom Savage wait three years to start.
According to O'Brien, it is hard for a rookie to succeed in the NFL and he has no problem with keeping Deshaun Watson on the sidelines to learn before putting him out there to start. Houston has made it to the playoffs two years in a row thanks to their great defense and can afford to wait on Watson to mature. However, Rick Smith said there will be competition at every position and that includes giving Deshaun a chance to win that starting role this year if he puts in the work.
