Houston Texans: Deshaun Watson should have been in Top 50 of NFL Top 100
Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson was ranked in the NFL Top 100 for the second time in his career.
As much of an honor it is for players to be ranked in the NFL Top 100, Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson should have been ranked better than 51st overall, as that is where he came in for the start of the 2019 NFL season.
Entering last season, Watson — who played in just seven games in 2017 as a rookie — was ranked 50th overall, and after all of the hits, rushes and recovering from an ACL tear, Watson enters this season ranked worse. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, and it is all but certain other quarterbacks will be ranked ahead of him for this year that could be debatable.
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Watson is the second Texans player to be on this list, as defensive end/linebacker Jadeveon Clowney is ranked 63rd overall, after he was ranked 32nd last year. Others who are all but a lock to be on this list from the Texans are J.J. Watt and DeAndre Hopkins, as they will most likely be toward the front of the rankings list.
Now for Watson, quarterbacks he was ranked ahead of entering the ’19 season are Carson Wentz (Philadelphia Eagles, 96th), Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers, 87th), Kirk Cousins (Minnesota Vikings, 78th) and Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons, 69th).
According to Pro Football Focus, Watson was graded at 80.9 overall, with a passing grade of 77.9 and a run grade of 75.6. Granted, there is the issue of Watson being sacked the much-mentioned 64 times (including playoffs) last season with six passes being batted down, with three of those coming in Week 3 against the New York Giants.
The Texans quarterback finished the season with 4,400 passing yards and 10 interceptions, and adding in all of the sacks and QB hits he suffered, those are very respectable numbers. Plus, Watson rushed for 626 yards (including playoffs), averaging 5.8 yards per carry with five touchdowns. Watson also rushed for 10-plus yards 25 times last season with his best run being 34 yards in Week 12 against the Tennessee Titans.
All of that brings us back to the overall 2019 ranking of Watson in the NFL Top 100. What does Watson offer the Texans in terms of how he plays with his arm and his legs? Let’s just say if he’s not on the field, the Texans’ offense isn’t productive.
Look at how the Texans played in 2017 once Watson was out for the season. They won one of their final 10 games, which came in Week 11 against the Arizona Cardinals. Houston isn’t the same team without Watson, and if a player is that important to a team, that makes that player better than 51st overall.
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