The Houston Texans had a winning record in each of the last three seasons, and thanks to a defense that included J.J. Watt winning Defensive Player of the Year twice over that span. This has been a team ready to win… if only they had a legitimate quarterback. A very good overall roster has been held back by not having a quality player at the most important position in sports.
The Texans told themselves they finally fixed their quarterback problem by signing Brock Osweiler to a four-year, $72 million deal last offseason, but that was immediately a colossal disaster. So much so that, just one year later, the Texans traded Osweiler to the Cleveland Browns. This left the Texans with Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden as No. 1 and No. 2 on the quarterback depth chart.
So, it was hardly a surprise when the Texans traded up to the No. 12 pick to acquire Clemson star Deshaun Watson on Thursday night. The Texans traded the No. 25 overall pick and a first-round pick in 2018 to move up:
Trade terms: Texans trade their 25th pick, next year's first-round pick to Browns to acquire DeShaun Watson
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) April 28, 2017
Watson is the first QB Texans have drafted in the first 3 rounds since 2003. He and David Carr (2002) are the team's only first-round picks.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) April 28, 2017
Last week, DeAndre Hopkins told media he'd love to get Watson and said "I'm pretty sure he'd like to throw me the ball."
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) April 28, 2017
The 6’3″, 221-pounder was a superstar at Clemson, reaching the last two national championship games (winning the most recent, of course) and winning the Davey O’Brien Award for top college quarterback twice. Watson is extremely talented, but like every quarterback in this draft, is extremely raw. His accuracy and decision-making can particularly be erratic, but there’s no doubt he has a high ceiling and is a very exciting dual-threat prospect. His abilities draw Marcus Mariota comps, but he’s nowhere near the polished product Mariota is.
https://youtu.be/Frm1oeO2yu0
The Texans paid a steep price to move to up to acquire a quarterback with plenty of question marks, but Watson certainly has the skillset and potential to make the deal look like a good move down the road.
Texans had Deshaun Watson as their No. 1 QB in this class. Coaches loved the intangibles he brings to the table. His visit went great too.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 28, 2017
And even with how raw Watson is, he still may be the best quarterback on this Houston roster already. It will be interesting to see if the Texans give him the starting job Week 1. And it will especially be interesting to see if Watson can eventually become the quarterback to finally take the Texans to the next level.
