Deshaun Watson is a dynamic NFL quarterback and the Houston Texans are lucky to have him. Watson can make plays with his arm as well as his legs and keeps opposing defenses on edge with his ability to turn nothing into something. This same ability also covered up the fact that Houston’s offensive line was atrocious last season. Watson was able to move around and escape the pocket when necessary to keep drives alive. That is why when Watson went down due to injury the offense struggled so much. Tom Savage and T.J. Yates do not possess this same ability and were essentially sitting ducks. This is part of the reason why the Texans need to find a mobile backup quarterback.
Just last week Houston brought back Brandon Weeden to backup Watson. This move is more about the fact that Weeden has been around the block and can be the veteran quarterback on the roster. Having a veteran presence in the locker room is very valuable to the team however if Weeden had to take the field if Watson was not available the results may not be pretty.
As mentioned above the Texans offensive line did not perform well last season. While Houston has made some moves to address this there are still a lot of unknowns in regards to this unit. Jeff Allen, Seantrel Henderson and Zach Fulton are nice upgrades but it is not known how they will perform when the season starts. Other unknowns include the contributions (if any) of Derek Newton and David Quessenberry. Newton missed the entire 2017 due to an injury suffered the year prior. While Quessenberry made his NFL debut last season after a long cancer battle.
Why should the Texans bring in a mobile quarterback instead of focusing on the offensive line?
Improving the offensive line should be a priority but there is more to the equation than that. Part of the reason the Texans offense stalled last year was due to the offensive line and the quarterbacks inability to escape pressure. The other part is just the overall playing style of a quarterback. A mobile quarterback keeps a defense honest and they have to prepare for a multifaceted attack. When a non-mobile backup quarterback comes in for a mobile quarterback, the threat of the run is no longer there. Combined with the bad offensive line this allows defenses to key in on certain players and schemes and take away the offenses ability to move the ball.
What a mobile backup quarterback does is allow the offense to keep the threat of a quarterback run present. It allows the offense to keep running the same plays as it did with starter and maintain the pressure it puts on a defense. Instead of an offensive gameplan that becomes watered down, the backup can run the same plays as the starter and nothing changes on the offensive side of the ball. What this also provides is that when the starter does return the offense kept running the same plays and there will not be what is essentially an offensive scheme change.
Consistency is key in the NFL and the Texans really need it
The most successful teams in the NFL are the ones who are consistent. Whether that is with who is playing or how they play, overall the general gameplan is the same. When Watson was lost for the year in 2017 the offense had to change it resulted in a 4-12 season for the Texans. Part of the reason was injuries the other part was backup quarterbacks were not suited to run the same style of offense the Texans ran with Watson under center.
Simply put the Texans are in need of an insurance policy at quarterback. If Watson suffers another serious injury or is not the same player, a contingency plan is necessary. There are plenty of options on how to find this quarterback. Whether it is through free agency or the draft. At this point in time the draft seems to be their best bet as the better options in free agency have already signed with teams. Whether the Texans actually decide to go down this path will be interesting as the draft approaches and there are quarterbacks available who could fit this role.