Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson - Legit alternative to Jared Goff in 2017?

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

Originally posted by Mertonschickendance:

Originally posted by gold49er2183:

Originally posted by Mertonschickendance:
man I hope we take him at 2 (w/ garrett going 1)

You must not like the niners.

You must not like the black Tim Tebow but with great mechanics.

Is that supposed to sell me on Watson? FWIW, I like Watson too, but you may need a better argument.

i guess he means that hes a winner that can actually play the position, but yeah that will throw a lot of people off.

NFL Philosophy ‏@NFLosophy

Watson is better than handful of NFL QBs already. Terrific THROWER of the football. Question I have is how he processes info at NFL level.

Watson also didn't face a ton of pressure as a senior. Perceives pressure too much, tucks ball too early, but his athleticism is unreal.

It's a natural by-product that athletic QBs have trouble with full reads simply because they've never HAD to make a full read.

Athletic QBs struggle with multiple reads because they've grown up with the ability to read 1 guy and if he's not there, run for yards.

When athletic QBs run for first downs, they're considered successful and score points. They don't need to read. They can work around it.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000786915/article/deshaun-watson-hearing-projections-hell-go-as-high-as-top-5

Originally posted by ltrain:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000786915/article/deshaun-watson-hearing-projections-hell-go-as-high-as-top-5

I hope he and Mitch throw well at the combine and at their pro days. Cleveland needs to over think this and pass on Garrett

Watson scares me. Scares me if we draft him and scares me if we don't..

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

Watson scares me. Scares me if we draft him and scares me if we don't..

Hah, I feel the same! I love his confidence and attitude. His throwing motion and release are beautiful, I think he has a far smaller learning curve than Mahomes but his struggles across the middle of the field and sheer amount of talent he had around him give me pause.


Not sure which way he will go but he is certainly very intriguing.

He really does have great mechanics. Kind of remind of Russell Wilson.

I agree with those concerns. Matt Ryan said one of the things Kyle helped him most with was his decision making. Maybe Kyle can do the same for Watson.

Originally posted by Jcool:

The great @gregcosell breaks DeShaun Watson as an NFL prospect https://t.co/4i5h8NgOEj

— Nathan Zegura (@NathanZegura) February 23, 2017

Thank you for this, I am always interested to hear Cosell's thoughts on players.



He highlights my chief concerns about Watson. My biggest question is his vision. Most of his INTs werent a case of a young QB trusting his arm too much and trying to force a pass in there as much as he flat out did not see a defender lurking in the area. That is very worrisome when you consider the vast types of coverage looks he will see in the NFL.


How much of that can be improved through coaching and scheming will determine his NFL ceiling.

My sense is Watson doesn't see the field well. There are issues with his vision in the pocket and understanding and feel for route concepts. And for a quarterback who isn't a turn-it-loose thrower and a risk taker, like Jameis Winston for example, Watson had too many bad reads and poor throws last season. He exhibited poor judgment too many times.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by NinerBuff:
Watson scares me. Scares me if we draft him and scares me if we don't..

Hah, I feel the same! I love his confidence and attitude. His throwing motion and release are beautiful, I think he has a far smaller learning curve than Mahomes but his struggles across the middle of the field and sheer amount of talent he had around him give me pause.

Not sure which way he will go but he is certainly very intriguing.

If this is the case are you saying you don't have faith in Shanahan's abilities as a coach to fix these things?

Originally posted by glorydayz:
If this is the case are you saying you don't have faith in Shanahan's abilities as a coach to fix these things?

I'm saying there are some things that no amount of coaching or reps can fix. Just as you have people who thrive in stressful environments while others completely fall apart. You can teach the latter better coping and stress management techniques but it still won't make them great at it. The major problem with evaluating quarterbacking is that so much of it goes on between the ears and I think a QB either has it or they don't and its extremely difficult to determine what a guy can improve upon in a meaningful way.

Watson has a great release, generally sound mechanics, has been outstanding in clutch situations, has good athleticism and usually makes good decisions with the football but evaluators are going to have to determine how much his vision can improve in the NFL, particularly when going up against far more complex coverage looks.

I agree that he has room to improve on decision-making to an extent, but even with the INTs he makes the right call 95% of the time seemingly. On the other hand, I think that there are attributes that you can't coach which he luckily has in spades. Alex Smith was a super smart kid who made the right decision to a fault in terms of protecting the ball, but no amount of coaching could ever change the fact that his ceiling would never eclipse being an efficient, above average QB. Someone like Watson, though, is a playmaker with the intangibles and physical talent to be a real differencemaker on the next level.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by glorydayz:
If this is the case are you saying you don't have faith in Shanahan's abilities as a coach to fix these things?

I'm saying there are some things that no amount of coaching or reps can fix. Just as you have people who thrive in stressful environments while others completely fall apart. You can teach the latter better coping and stress management techniques but it still won't make them great at it. The major problem with evaluating quarterbacking is that so much of it goes on between the ears and I think a QB either has it or they don't and its extremely difficult to determine what a guy can improve upon in a meaningful way.

Watson has a great release, generally sound mechanics, has been outstanding in clutch situations, has good athleticism and usually makes good decisions with the football but evaluators are going to have to determine how much his vision can improve in the NFL, particularly when going up against far more complex coverage looks.

Shanahan has worked with QB's in the past that struggled with the same issues, he made them look good. Why wouldn't he be able to do the same with Watson?

Originally posted by TheBlueHell:
I agree that he has room to improve on decision-making to an extent, but even with the INTs he makes the right call 95% of the time seemingly. On the other hand, I think that there are attributes that you can't coach which he luckily has in spades. Alex Smith was a super smart kid who made the right decision to a fault in terms of protecting the ball, but no amount of coaching could ever change the fact that his ceiling would never eclipse being an efficient, above average QB. Someone like Watson, though, is a playmaker with the intangibles and physical talent to be a real differencemaker on the next level.

You sir are correct, there are certain athletic attributes that you cannot teach no matter how you train. The keyword here is PLAYMAKER.

At this point, there is no way Watson get's past us with the #2 pick!