Deshaun Watson was one of the top quarterbacks in college football and the Houston Texans surprised the NFL by trading up to draft him in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. The Texans needed a quarterback and after losing out on Tony Romo as an NFL free agent option, they made the move and it looks like Watson will be the next starting quarterback for the Texans.
Houston Texans quarterback woes
Ever since Matt Schaub left, the Houston Texans have tried to find his replacement through the free agent market. T.J. Yates (fifth round) and Tom Savage (fourth round) were the only quarterbacks the Texans took a chance on and neither man has proven to be a starting quarterback.
The rest of their quarterback choices were brought in during free agency or trades and included names like Matt Leinert, Case Keenum (an undrafted free agent), Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mallett, Brian Hoyer, Brandon Weeden, and Brock Osweiler. With Deshaun Watson as a first round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Houston hopes to win with a different approach.
Deshaun Watson: The next Michael Jordan?
Deshaun Watson was the third quarterback drafted in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft after Mitchell Trubisky (North Carolina) and Patrick Mahomes (Texas Tech). However, his head coach at Clemson heaped a lot of praise on Deshaun, when Dabo Sweeney said that whoever drafted Watson would get the "next Michael Jordan." For his part, Deshaun said that he isn't Michael Jordan but appreciates that his coach sees greatness in him and wants to work to reach that level over his NFL career.
At Clemson, Deshaun went 33-5 and won a national championship. He was also a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist and was 32-3 in his final two seasons, his final college game being a national championship victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide. He now has a chance to take that next step with the Houston Texans.
The 2017 Houston Texans
In 2015, the Houston Texans made it to the playoffs with quarterback Brian Hoyer but he failed badly in the playoffs and they were eliminated. In 2016, the Texans made it to the playoffs behind Brock Osweiler and Tom Savage. Osweiler lost his starting job but started in the playoffs when Savage was injured and went 1-1 in the postseason.
The reason that Houston made the playoffs was because their defense was so great that they overcame bad quarterback play. This year, the Texans had Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden as their quarterback and now add Deshaun Watson in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. At the time, Savage is the starter but the Texans will give Watson every chance to win the job in 2017.
