Scouting Report : QB Clemson, Deshaun Watson
*NOTE: Since writing this, my opinion has slightly changed on Deshaun Watson since the championship game. My scouting of him happened weeks before the game, and now I have to move him up slightly on my board. He will be my consensus #2, and I now have him as a true first round talent. I like to grade players on their tangibles and intangibles, and I like to keep only the quantifiable in my scouting, but after last seasons championship and this years, I have to include it. Watson just shows up big in big games. He still has his flaws, but that kind of performance means something to me.
THE GOOD
As far as I know and have read, Watson is a true leader and a hard worker. He is a true dual threat QB that can shred a defense with his legs. He has an above average arm, and as a QB overall he is a Marcus Mariota light. He has pretty good ball placement downfield and trusts his receivers. He can make every throw in the book needed with enough zip, but accuracy is another question. He throws to the seams and post with nice touch and accuracy. His corner route TD throw against Auburn is a thing of beauty. Weirdly enough, I actually prefer Watson when hes given the whole field to survey from the pocket opposed to rolling him out and giving him half the field.
THE BAD
Unfortunately there is a lot to go in here. I think Watson is a little overhyped, but I still like him overall. First and foremost, Deshaun Watson needs to work on his mechanics. For a QB whose started three years at a major program his footwork can be all over the place. He tends to throw with a wide stance, which leads to sailed throws, and in the NFL that will be dangerous. The number of multiple INT games Watson has is also quite concerning. I am not one to make any excuses for interceptions, as I didn't for Jamies Winston, and he is still shaking that off in the NFL. Watson won't go through his progression consistently and can get locked onto his first read. He also doesn't consistently find the open guy right away, which shows me he struggles with reading defenses. If you turn the ball over in college, that won't just go away in the pros. Now some of his issues I think stem from the fact some of the offense feels pre determined. Some throws are automatically made off a look, and when the look changes immediately post snap, a play is still on auto pilot and a negative play results. This happens in other programs, not just clemson. Watson has a good completion percent, but there's a difference between putting the ball somewhere on your guy and consistently putting it on his numbers. Watson is the former, he is spotty with placement on short and intermediate throws and struggles to throw his receivers open. When he's clicking it looks great, but game to game, quarter to quarter it just doesn't happen. Footwork needs to be tightened up to, to help the short pass game, and his accuracy down field. He could stand to add to his 6'2" 210lb frame.
OVERVIEW
Overall, Watson has nice tools to work with. He's a natural leader, hes tough, hes got burners, an above average arm and football IQ. He's played in big games for three years, played tough competition and both excelled and struggled in those. He has nice parts of his game such as his fearlessness to go down field and his accuracy over the intermediate field, and his good stretches of play are nice to see. Watsons problem is he is very inconsistent in his level of play, let alone did he make improvements this year from last. Instead he slightly regressed. His pocket prescence to me is in the middle, he can at times stay in the pocket, but too often he looks down at the rush and decides to run. Now this can be due to an average pass blocking oline, but it is still something he needs to improve on. He has some mechanics to work on, but based on who he is, he should be a hard worker and become a solid starter in a year or two. I think he's honestly a late first to second round talent, and late first in the best scenario,a but he might just go top 10.
