Watson Drops In Rankings: Week 1 Cowboys Concerns

In 2020, Deshaun Watson was playing at an MVP-caliber level with the Houston Texans. He completed over 70 percent of his passes for 4,823 yards and 33 touchdowns to just seven interceptions.

He sat out his entire fifth year over a messy dispute and was later traded to the Cleveland Browns and subsequently given $230 million guaranteed.

Since that time, Watson has played in just 12 games and thrown for a total of 2,217 yards and 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Browns and their fans aren’t exactly getting their money’s worth.

One analyst polled coaches and executives to create quarterback rankings and for the third consecutive year, Watson has slid down the list. He came in at No. 18 overall, which in itself is bothersome.

He hasn’t played a full season in four years, so moving down the list was inevitable. But it leads to the question, are there really 14 quarterbacks worse than what Watson has displayed in Cleveland?

Watson didn’t play a single down in the preseason. With offensive line woes, we can understand Cleveland not playing him in the final preseason game. ... maybe.

Related: Browns RB Nick Chubb to Start Regular Season on PUP List

But ... The prospect of his first live action since Week 6 of last year being against All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons just seems a bit frightening. If the Browns didn’t think he could hold up against the Seattle Seahawks second- and third-stringers, what do they think is going to happen when the Dallas Cowboys come to town?

We aren’t sure how Week 1 is going to turn out, but if the offensive line doesn’t get better in a hurry, Parsons could run wild and Watson could be under duress the entire game.

Is Watson the 18th best quarterback in the league? Highly doubtful. Can he be better than expected? We guess we will just have to wait and see.