Houston Texans: Five Reasons why Deshaun Watson could be great or a bust
Dak Prescott
It’s also being noted that Watson is being compared to another 4. Everyone knows of Dak Prescott and his successful rookie season. But what are the chances that Watson repeats the same thing? Besides, even though Prescott had a good college career at Mississippi State, he didn’t arrive in the NFL with the same package as Watson does.
Prescott was not a Heisman finalist. He did not win a national championship. He certainly wasn’t expected to be the first quarterback taken in the draft. So Prescott came in with no pressure other than playing for the Dallas Cowboys and backing up Tony Romo. How’s that been for him? Fun, but expect him to get better.
Watson has more pressure because he’s coming in to be some sort of savior for the Houston Texans or just a solution to their QB struggles. Having experience in big games helps Watson to play in the NFL. But being widely known for accolades also can hurt him because he’s expecting to be a target.
If Watson can embrace what he’s going to deal with, he can prove big game players in college can mesh in the NFL like those in the past.
Rules of Quarterbacks
In this article by Marc Sessler, hall of fame head coach Bill Parcells wrote down four requirements for drafting rookie quarterbacks.
1) He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback.
2) He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously.
3) He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time.
4) He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.
Watson passes three of the four requirements with the first one being a fail since he left after his junior season. This plays as both good and bad for Watson. Seven quarterbacks won the Super Bowl from 2000-2009. Of those, only five of them passed all four requirements.
But with the way Watson has learned and worked in training camp, you can’t help but wonder if Parcells would make an exception.
Final Analysis
At the end of the day, Watson is a rookie. He will make rookie mistakes and he will be targeted by defenses. But this whole thing is not to say Watson can’t handle the pressure. It’s saying he has to embrace the pressure if any that’s on him. Having some incredible teammates helps as well. If Watson can work hard, accept faults when he makes mistakes and not to apply too much pressure to himself, he will have a good career in the NFL.
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The Texans have struggled finding a quarterback. It’s time that they roll the dice and gamble with a rookie quarterback. But it’s also up to Watson to play the game and do well. What’s my best guess on how he does? I think with Watson, he should be a good fit or else Rock Smith wouldn’t have the guts to draft him in the first place.