Deshaun Watson should be the quarterback of the Houston Texans if the team can work out a long term deal with him.
If the Houston Texans are thinking about trading Deshaun Watson or letting him walk once his rookie contract plays out after this season, they should think about that very carefully. Watson is a proven commodity who is already a winner and should get even better as he gains more experience.
If Deshaun Watson isn’t the quarterback, then who would be? Let’s play make-believe for a few moments. If all 32 teams dropped all their quarterbacks and there was a draft just for signal-callers, and the Texans had the first pick, who would they choose?
Remember, we are looking for a quarterback for the future. Someone who can lead this franchise for the next five, six, or seven seasons, possibly more.
If you were Bill O’Brien, who would you choose.
Why Deshaun Watson should be the quarterback of the future for the Houston Texans: The Hall of Famers
If you are considering the future, you can automatically eliminate the four future Hall of Fame quarterbacks still playing. As good as they may have been over their careers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, and Philip Rivers probably do not have more than a year or two each left.
All four of these could be done by the end of the 2020 season and wouldn’t be any help to the Texans. It would be better to look in other directions for the future.
Why Deshaun Watson should be the quarterback of the future for the Houston Texans: The Unimpressive
This list is long and undistinguished and makes you realize how bad things could be. Would you want Ryan Tannehill? How about Tyrod Taylor? Mitch Trubisky or Nick Foles?
Ryan Fitzpatrick? No thanks! Marcus Mariota? Nope? Teddy Bridgewater? Maybe, but who wants to take that chance right now besides the Panthers? How do you feel about Jacoby Brissett? Even the Colts looked elsewhere. Jameis Winston? Sure, if you love turnovers!
Why Deshaun Watson should be the quarterback of the future for the Houston Texans: The Young and unproven
This is where things get interesting a little bit. There are quite a few young quarterbacks in the NFL. Many of these could turn out to be good quarterbacks, but most are a long way from being as good as Watson already is.
This list includes some names like Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones, Gardner Minshew, Jeff Allen, Jimmy Garoppolo, Kyler Murray, Drew Lock, and Dwayne Haskins.
Several of these could possibly turn into stars. Heck, Garoppolo has already been to a Super Bowl. Do you think any of these are better than Watson is already?
Why Deshaun Watson should be the quarterback of the future for the Houston Texans: The battle-tested veterans
Next, you have a list of proven veteran quarterbacks who are known commodities with a track record of success. They also have a lot of mileage and probably not more than a few years left.
Matt Ryan will be 35 this season. Matt Stafford is 32 and coming off an injury. Aaron Rodgers is 36. Cam Newton will be 32, but he is beaten up. Kirk Cousins will also be 32 this season and has been very consistent since becoming a starter in 2015. His problem is that he has barely won half of his games as a starter, going 44-42-2.
Any of these guys could lead the Texans to success for a couple of years – maybe. There probably wouldn’t be able to offer much more past that. Watson is still only 24 and would be a much better long-term choice than these quarterbacks.
Why Deshaun Watson should be the quarterback of the future for the Houston Texans: Real candidates
There are some very viable candidates out there, however. Carson Wentz is only 27 years old and has won 64 percent of his starts. He’s thrown for over 3,000 yards every season and has 95 touchdowns with only 35 interceptions. He does have a history of injuries, though, and that has to come into consideration.
Dak Prescott will be 27 this season as well and has similar numbers to Wentz with at least 3,300 yards in each of his four seasons, 97 touchdowns, and only 36 interceptions. He is very durable: he hasn’t missed a start in his career yet.
What isn’t known for sure, is if he can carry a team for long periods. For most of his career, he has had a strong running game. Last season, that running game wasn’t as reliable, and the Cowboys struggled, though Prescott still performed very well.
Jared Goff has been to a Super Bowl has shown flashes of brilliance. in 2017 and 2018, the 25-year old went 24-7 in the regular season, threw for 8,492 yards, 60 touchdowns, and only 19 interceptions. Last season, however, Goff took significant steps backward. He threw for a lot of yards (4,638) but had just 22 touchdowns and a whopping 16 interceptions. The talent is there, but it comes with some wariness.
Why Deshaun Watson should be the quarterback of the future for the Houston Texans: The superstars
There are probably three quarterbacks out there who some general managers might see as better long-term future leaders of their teams.
The reigning MVP, Lamar Jackson, is an incredible 19-3 as a starter for the Ravens. He proved he could pass the ball effectively last year, with 3,127 passing yards, 36 touchdowns, and only six interceptions, while connecting on two-thirds of his passing attempts. Oh, and for good measure, he added over 1,200 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns in 2019. Here lies the issue, however, with Jackson. He already has 21 career fumbles in his career, compared to just nine interceptions.
Also, in today’s NFL, just how long can a quarterback who runs as much as Jackson does, stay healthy? He is exposed to big hits more than any other quarterback in the league, and while he is exceptionally talented, that has to be worry over the long-term.
Russell Wilson also has to be considered in an exercise like this. Yes, he is closer to the end of his career at 31 than to the beginning. Still, there have been few quarterbacks more effective over the last eight seasons than Wilson. He has never missed a game, he has never thrown for less than 3,100 yards, and hasn’t thrown for 3,400 yards since he was a rookie. He has 227 touchdowns to only 68 interceptions and is 86-41-1 in his career. He also has plenty of playoff experience, going 9-6 in 15 postseason outings.
Lastly, the one quarterback just about every team would want in this scenario is Patrick Mahomes. In only two years as a starter, he has a league MVP and a Super Bowl MVP. He’s the same age as Watson but has shown to be slightly more talented. Like Watson, he does have one injury that caused him to miss games, but Mahomes didn’t lose much time and looks to be suffering no ill effects for last year’s knee dislocation.
Deshaun Watson should be the quarterback of the future for the Houston Texans
Let’s return to reality. Teams are not going to be dropping their quarterbacks. Teams are going to keep their stars at that position, as any smart franchise would do.
Starting over with a rookie doesn’t sound appealing either because it is such a crapshoot. The Texans have a 24-year-old star quarterback they need to lock down completely and before the start of the 2020 season.
Watson’s past two seasons stack up with just about anyone else’s. He’s average 4,000 passing, he has 52 touchdowns to only 21 interceptions, and he is completing 67 percent of his attempts. He can create positive plays with his legs, with 964 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.
In addition to everything else, he is establishing himself as a proven winner with a 21-10 record in 2018 and 2019, and two AFC championships.
Watson is better right now than most off the options, real or make-believe. When you toss in things like health, age, and performance, Watson and his still enormous upside should be even more appealing, and he is already on your roster. There is no need to trade him or to mess up a good thing.
Whatever is going on around the Houston Texans right now has to be figured out. Deshaun Watson needs to be happy and eager to be the quarterback for the team in 2020 and beyond.