The Houston Texans took Deshaun Watson in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, and he is the future franchise quarterback for the Texans. His own college football coach at Clemson, D.B. Sweeney, said that whoever took Watson was getting the Michael Jordan of the NFL. While the Texans love what they have seen so far from Deshaun, head coach Bill O’Brien said that Tom Savage remains the starting quarterback for the team until otherwise specified.
Tom Savage
Tom Savage has one clear advantage over Deshaun Watson. The Houston Texans drafted Savage in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and he has been with the team ever since.
Bill O’Brien has never really trusted young quarterbacks since taking over as the head coach of the Texans. Savage played in two games in 2014 and started at the end of the season in 2016. He never took a snap in 2015, despite the Texans desperately needing a quarterback to step up.
Instead. O’Brien has started veterans like Brian Hoyer, who started for the Cleveland Browns before signing with Houston. He started Ryan Mallett, who came over from the New England Patriots. He started Brock Osweiler, who they signed from the Denver Broncos. When emergencies arose, O’Brien started T.J. Yates and Case Keenum. However, Tom Savage never got a real chance until the end of his third season in Houston.
In two starts, Savage threw for 176 yards and 260 yards but didn’t throw a touchdown. The Houston Texans won both games, thanks to their dominant defense. However, Savage fell to a season-ending injury, and the Texans were forced to turn back to Brock Osweiler, who went 1-1 in the playoffs. Now, Savage gets his first chance to earn a job at the start of a season but has Deshaun Watson breathing down his neck.
Deshaun Watson
Bill O’Brien said that Deshaun Watson has come a long way since they chose him with their first-round draft pick this year. O’Brien said there is a lot that Watson does well and he is able to really command the Houston Texans offense. He also said there is no questioning the work ethic of Deshaun, who is even there on the weekends.
However, O’Brien said that the job is Tom Savage’s to lose and Brandon Weeden is in the mix as well.
According to O’Brien, Deshaun Watson has done a lot right, but he still has room to improve and wants to make that quarterback job a competitive battle between all three Houston Texans players. As for Watson, he said he is learning from Savage and Weeden and is just trying to get better each day.
