Houston Texans: Deshaun Watson rising rapidly through quarterback ranks

Houston Texans Quarterback, Deshaun Watson, has a chance to prove himself in 2020.

Houston Texans’ quarterback Deshaun Watson is entering his fourth year in the league, his third full season as a starter, and he has an opportunity to show the NFL what he’s really made of with the off-season splashes the Texans have made.

Accounting for  8,017 passing yards in his first two full seasons as a starter, Watson is showing his ability to find a win against all odds as an elite field-general. Leading the charge on ten game-winning drives, the young quarterback already has a career record of 24-13 and has gone 21-10 omitting his first season, where he only started in 6 games.

When comparing Deshaun Watson’s performance over his first two seasons as a starter, with some of the other undisputed elites at the quarterback position, it’s clear he’s trending toward the top.

Tom Brady went 20-10 over his first two seasons as a starter with the New England Patriots, Drew Brees started with an abysmal 10-17 record in his first two seasons as a San Diego Charger in 2002-2003. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers went 17-15 in his first starting seasons with the Green Bay Packers in 2008-2009.

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Winning games isn’t the end-all-be-all criteria for the quarterback position in the regular season, although it certainly helps builds a case in evaluating how impactful they are towards the overall success of the team. However, there are other tangible factors about Deshaun Watson that make him more than just an average quarterback. The 964 rushing yards over the last two seasons speaks for itself – as a quarterback equipped with an incredible sense of vision, and the legs of a gazelle. Watson knows when to escape the pocket and turn an otherwise lost-cause play into a sizeable gain.

Watson is learning how to stay in the pocket and escape when he needs to. His arm strength is no hindrance, and his ability to place the ball in double and sometimes triple coverage should not be taken for granted as it is difficult to throw on the move.

There’s no doubt that Deshaun Watson is one of the young rising stars at the quarterbacks, and that’s why the 2020 season will be so vital. With massive changes, this off-season, the Houston Texans roster looks completely different than it did in the 2019 season.

The DeAndre Hopkins-David Johnson trade has blown up with controversy around the league, and the acquisition of Brandin Cooks for a second-round pick surprised everyone with NFL Draft only a few weeks away. Watson faces an interesting challenge of playing without his safety net in Hopkins.

Brandin Cooks, Randall Cobb, Will Fuller, and Kenny Stills are now the backbone of the wide-receiver core in Houston, and Watson is going to have his work cut out for him building a rapport with the new acquisitions.

While Cooks and Cobb are new to Houston, but they certainly aren’t inexperienced rookies; Cooks posting four 1,000 yard seasons on three different squads (New Orleans, New England, and the LA Rams) – his issues with concussions made skeptics worried about his longevity.

It will be exciting to see how Deshaun Watson adjusts to the new roster, and if Brandin Cooks can stay healthy, watch out for a dynamic duo capable of tearing apart opposing secondaries with Cooks and Fuller.