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Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson: 2017 NFL Draft Scouting Report

By George Stockburger

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Deshaun Watson has been in the spotlight throughout his football career. As a high school prospect in 2014, he was widely considered to be a top-three quarterback in the country. Ranked above names such as Brad Kaaya, Patrick Mahomes, Deshone Kizer, and Mason Rudolph, Watson has proved his talents to be superior to his fellow “classmates” in 2014.

The 20-year-old only lost one game in 2015 as the starting quarterback of the Clemson Tigers, the National Championship game. Despite defeating the likes of Florida State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and North Carolina, the Crimson Tide halted Watson’s perfect season by just five points.

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While he finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting, and failed to take his team to the promise land Deshaun Watson is widely believed to be a candidate for the first overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Measurables

Height: 6’2

Weight: 207 lbs

Strengths

When you think of Deshaun Watson, you think mobility and escapability. That escapability in the college football playoffs reminded me of Russell Wilson, although that would not be a perfect nor fair comparison to make.

He escapes the pocket better than anyone college football and can extend plays when they break down. When on the move, you can see him kick into second gear with good vision of the field in-front of him. He also knows when and how to avoid contact by attempting to get out-of-bounds or slide.

Accuracy is another thing Watson is fairly well-known for. He can fit the ball into tight windows, and hit deep fade routes in the back corner of the endzone.

On shorter routes, he typically shows pinpoint accuracy and ball placement.

Weaknesses

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The immediate red flag with Deshaun Watson is his durability. Through the course of two seasons at Clemson he has suffered a torn ACL, broken collarbone, broken hand, and a sprained knee. The collarbone came in spring ball, while the rest of the injuries limited his first season as a starter to eight games. As an athletic, mobile quarterback he takes too many awkward hits.

Despite his solid arm strength, his deep passes will flatten out and lose velocity. Adding more muscle over the offseason will help. Something that could also help with that will be managing his footwork, creating a consistent base underneath himself, and gaining better balance. Gaining a better sense of touch on certain plays will also come into play.

Protection of the football is also something he will need to get engrained into his head.

Bad body language is another thing he needs to fix.

Finally, his ability to read defenses and recognize pressure appears to be questionable. In the Appalachian State game, the right side of the line was overloaded and he failed to recognize it and make the necessary adjustments.

Final Thoughts

This early in the process, it is hard to give a definitive projection to where Deshaun Watson will play in the NFL, or how early he could be taken in the draft. Players such as Teddy Bridgewater and Christian Hackenberg have entered seasons as the presumptive number one overall prospect, but slipped for various circumstances.

Should he stay healthy, improve as a quarterback, and take Clemson back to the college football playoffs, it would not be outrageous to see Watson taken within the first five picks in next springs NFL Draft.

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