QB Watson leads way for Texans
Deshaun Watson wears a gray hoodie underneath his shoulder pads and has it pulled low over his eyes as he and his teammates do calisthenics on the practice fields next to NRG Stadium on this sunny Wednesday afternoon.
The Houston Texans rookie quarterback couldn’t blend in if he wanted to. The red non-contact jersey helps ensure that. But the 6-2, 221-pounder was just a step faster, a touch more exaggerated in his movements than ev- eryone else, out in front of the pack as they proceed through lunges, “high knees” and other drills.
Watson’s doing it again, and not even thinking about it — leading.
Sometimes it’s in simple ways, like these warm-ups. Other times it’s more crucial: stepping into the huddle during a high-pressure game situation, addressing teammates with his even-keeled tone and, of course, delivering big plays.
And then there was the time he gave his first NFL game check to three stadium cafeteria workers, whose lives were impacted
by Hurricane Harvey.
On the field, Watson has infused the Texans offense with life, leading the unit to an average of 34 points in his five starts. Off the field, he’s emerged as the face of a franchise in need of a presence with J.J. Watt lost to injury for the second consecutive season.
“He’s got an interesting way about him. He’s a very unique guy,” coach Bill O’Brien told USA TODAY Sports. “He’s not a loud guy. He’s the same guy every day, and I think that’s really important when you’re a leader. You walk in the locker room, and they can expect to see the same guy every day. He’s very good about how he communicates with his teammates.
“And he’s a very good person, and you guys have seen that with some of the things he’s done around the city and here.” Center Nick Martin agreed. “He’s got a confidence — poise,” Martin said. “He’s a very calm, collected quarterback, and that in turn gives us confidence. He’s played in a lot of big games in college, so that helps. He’s not really fazed by anything.”
It all comes naturally for Watson, whom Houston moved up 13 spots to select 12th overall in April, despite lingering questions about his abilities. But the Texans coveted him enough to make him only the second first-round quarterback in team history (David Carr was the expansion franchise’s first-ever selection in 2002).
Once Watson arrived in Hous- ton, he approached the situation just as he did in high school, where he won the starting quarterback job as a freshman, and then again at Clemson, where he took over as the starter just four games into his freshman year and eventually took the Tigers to consecutive national championship games and a title in 2016.
“Just be myself,” Watson said when asked about his approach. “Just come in, do what I do, go to work, don’t say anything, don’t do too much. Just be Deshaun Watson. That’s what I’ve done ever since I walked in the day after I got drafted. Everything else takes care of itself.”
The Texans originally hoped to groom him slowly. But those plans were scrapped at halftime of the season opener with Houston trailing 19-0 behind struggling veteran Tom Savage, whom O’Brien benched.
Watson, the third quarterback selected in this year’s draft after Mitchell Trubisky and Patrick Mahomes, threw an interception and a touchdown in that eventual 29-7 Week 1 loss to Jacksonville. But since then he has steadily progressed into a muchneeded game-changer.
Watson has won three of his five starts and set a rookie record after needing just six games to throw his first 15 TD passes. He has only five interceptions, and his passer rating of 101.1 ranks sixth in the NFL.
“He’s come along faster than anyone expected,” NFL Network analyst and former Texans and Washington Redskins general manager Charley Casserly told USA TODAY Sports.
Casserly believed in the spring that Watson wasn’t “anywhere near a top pick in the draft” after he’d studied his college tape and consulted league insiders. Other talent evaluators stereotyped Watson, believing that he might bring some flash as a dual-threat quarterback who had directed a spread offense heavy on read-option plays. But they worried that — like Colin Kaepernick and Robert Griffin III before him — Watson wouldn’t be able to make the full transition to NFL pocket passer, which is necessary for long-term success.
That tune has changed. “It’s his ability to read defenses and move on to secondary receivers that’s impressed me,” Casserly said. “He can work through progressions. Everything gets faster in the NFL, and these kids struggle. You have to have pocket discipline. But Watson, he’s shown an ability to throw from the pocket as well as outside the pocket, and that’s something RG3 never got.
“It’s a credit to himself, because he’s thrown himself into this, and obviously studies. And it’s a credit to O’Brien and his staff for the changes they’ve made to the offense to help him transition. He’s gotten better at some aspects of his game than he was in college.”
O’Brien and Texans quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan do a lot of situational work with Watson, on the field and during film study. However, some things O’Brien sees in Watson are just God-given abilities.
“I’ve been fortunate, and I’ve been around some of the best quarterbacks — Tom Brady and other guys,” O’Brien said. “And this guy is a very accurate guy. He’s got a strong arm; he’s got good vision. He’s a very instinctive guy. He’s able to anticipate, which is really hard to coach. You’ve kinda got to have that.”
Work ethic also ranks among Watson’s key intangibles.
“We all knew he had physical gifts, but he’s put in the work and the time, watching tape,” Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon, who frequently talks with Watson, told USA TODAY Sports.
“It’s the little things that have equipped him for what he’s doing at the line — changing protections, changing plays — things you don’t see young quarterbacks do as easily, but you do see Deshaun doing them,” added Moon, the former Houston Oilers star who shares tips with Watson about game preparation. “He’s off to a great start and has really injected a lot of enthusiasm into that organization and city.”
The next challenge for O’Brien and Watson, who will face the vaunted Seahawks defense in Seattle on Sunday, involves remaining ahead of the competition. As teams get more footage of the young passer, they’ll contrive ways to better defend him.
“It’s funny, because it’s a what-have-you-done-for me league, and he’s played well and he’s an awesome kid. But really, you’re only as good as your next game,” O’Brien explained.
“We’re going to Seattle and have to keep it going. That’s for the coaches, too — we have to keep evolving with the offense, with him and make sure we’re doing things to suit everyone’s skillset. But especially his.”