Red Zone Play: The Future Is Now!

Trying to read the NFL tea leaves and predict the future of hot college prospects is one of the single most drama-filled endeavors surrounding the NFL. From guys like JaMarcus Russell and Vernon Gholston to Arian Foster and Shannon Sharpe, the hype machine is only consistent in the simple fact that it’s often wildly wrong.

When it comes to laying out the future of new Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, the predictions are fairly polarized. Directly after the pick, the folks on NFL Network compared him to Steve Young. Meanwhile, others insist he’s got bust written all over him.

Honestly, most sports writers have never been pro scouts. Our esteemed Brett Kollmann aside, most really don’t know all the variables that go into rating a quarterback and simply process what they’re fed by others and run it through their own gut instinct to output an opinion.

The Semtex rating system has Watson listed as a bronze level QB despite Watson quite possibly being the winningest athlete on the list. It’s worth noting that same system has Tom Savage rated gold. The system is so new that it’s hard to know how that works at predicting future performance.

One of my personal favorite explorations of the Watson’s future comes from a veteran quarterback coach, Seth Galina at Football Outsiders.

Watson for the win!

While Galina in no way pulls the hyperbolic Deshaun is Steve Young 2.0 switch, he lets us know that Watson can, and should, be exactly what Houston needs: a quarterback that won’t lose the game for you.

Another great piece that reinforces concept that comes from our very own Matt Weston.

Weston postulates that:

“[Watson’s] arm is good enough, and he’s great at everything else that not being the best thrower of the football is an inconvenience, not a career-killer.”

What makes Houston’s defense tick is the Will to Win. He has that more than any other rookie in this draft class.

The Will to Win!

For Houston to take the next step, that will must be coupled with competent play at all positions and great play at more than half of them. It’s pretty easy to say that, based on what we know so far, the Texans should tick both of those boxes easily next season.

Snce many teams are already cutting veterans post-draft, odds are Rick Smith isn’t done adding chess pieces for Bill O’Brien, Romeo Crennel and Mike Vrabel to play with as we head towards training camp.

One thing is obvious at NRG stadium: the future is now.

How about you? Do you think Houston fired a warning shot across the bow of the NFL with last weekend’s moves, or are you the Doubting Thomas who’s convinced the sky will continue to fall even though the roof is never open?

Let us know in the comments below.