Expectations For Deshaun Watson In 2019

With players like Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Aaron Rodgers all nearing the end of their playing days, it’s time a new crop of superstar quarterbacks to move onto the main stage.

Enter Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson.

While Mahomes is a phenom in his own right, this is a Houston Texans blog, so he’s just getting a passing mention here.

Let’s talk DW4. The Man. The Myth. The Legend. Well, not quite, but it’s coming.

In 22 total games started, Deshaun has already passed for 5,864 yards, 45 touchdowns, and has a career passer rating of 103.1.

And that was behind the worst offensive line in football (not just pro, but possibly even worse than several NCAA lines...maybe).

Now, with a new quarterback coach, a newly improved (we hope!) offensive line, and a “new” offensive coordinator, 2019 is poised to be the year Watson becomes a household name and cements his place in the legends of pro football permanently.

As the first quarterback to pass for at least 4,000 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 500 yards and 5 touchdowns in a single season in NFL history, Watson already has pen in hand and is ripping open the NFL record books to write his name everywhere he can.

All that was done behind the aforementioned bad offensive line, with an injury riddled wide receiver corps, a ‘work-in-progress’ tight end group and, yeah, a game or two with a collapsed lung.

Bringing in a new quarterback coach should elevate Watson’s game even further, as he’s the type of player that takes knowledge from anywhere and everywhere, then uses it to elevate his game. Let’s take a look at what some others, including the man himself, are saying.

Deshaun Watson:

Carl, Tim and OB... They meet with me on things I’m trying to improve from last season and things we want to do this season. I can learn a lot from Carl with all of his experience. He’s got so much knowledge, all the coverages he’s seen, all the different quarterbacks he’s coached. He’ll help me work on my fundamentals.

It’s well documented that Watson does nothing but win championships everywhere he’s ever been.

Max Preps:

Gainesville High can no longer be called the best football program in Georgia that’s never won a state championship.

The Red Elephants have been playing football for more than 100 years and have won more than 700 games, but had never brought home the state title.

Until now.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores as Gainesville overwhelmed Ware County 49-13 in the state’s Class AAAAA championship game on Friday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The Red Elephants (12-3) were making their seventh appearance in the final, the most of any team that had never won a title.

The Ringer:

When people tell tales about mythical heroes, they don’t say, “Well, he was pretty strong.” They describe the world’s most fearsome monsters — hydras, minotaurs, and dragons — and then rave about the guy who came along and slayed them.

Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson became a legend Monday night, leading the Tigers to their first national title in 35 years with a 35–31 win over Alabama. He had 420 passing yards and three second-half touchdown throws, including the game-winner to wide receiver Hunter Renfrow with a second remaining. But to celebrate Watson, we must first talk about the beast that he beat: the Crimson Tide.

So while we can lament the lack of splashy moves, big name free agent signings, and other fireworks many expected from the Houston Texans this offseason, let us not forget the biggest firework in the AFC South is loaded inside the helmet of #4, and it’s about to go off.

Bleacher Report:

The Houston Texans knew they had something special in quarterback Deshaun Watson early in his career. He had the look of a future franchise quarterback almost immediately, though a torn ACL cut his inaugural campaign short after just six starts.

Watson returned to play all 16 games in 2018 and put together a Pro Bowl season. He amassed 4,165 passing yards, 551 rushing yards and 31 total touchdowns. He has an opportunity to be even more productive in 2019.

Watson was sacked an alarming league-high 62 times last season. If Houston’s pass protection improves following the team’s offseason moves, the 23-year-old quarterback is going to be even more dangerous and entertaining. As long as Watson can stay upright and continue playing like he did last season, he’ll join fellow 2017 draft pick Mahomes as an elite-level signal-caller and one of the faces of the modern NFL.

How high do you think Watson can go? Better than Warren Moon to become the best in H-Town history? Better than Peyton Manning to be the best in AFC South history? Better than Tom Brady? Let us know where you think the Houston football rocket that is DW4 lands in the comment section.