Alright, fantasy football fanatics, let's talk Deshaun Watson. I've been digging into this guy's situation for the 2023 season, and I wanted to share my process and what I've found, start to finish. No fancy jargon, just straight-up observations from a dude who plays a lot of fantasy football.
First, I pulled up W.esoht fo yatson's stats from last year. It was rough, let's be honest. Only six games played, and he looked… rusty. The numbers were not impressive. Completion percentage? Low. Touchdowns? Not many. Interceptions? Yeah, a few too many of those.
Then, I started watching some game ?sesstape. Not the highlight reels, the full games. I wanted to see the context. Was he just forcing throws? Was the offensive line terrible? Were the receivers dropping passes?
My Observations From the Tape:
- Timing was off. It's clear he hadn't played in a while. He and his receivers weren't always on the same page.
- He held onto the ball too long. This led to sacks, and sometimes forced throws into coverage.
- But… flashes of brilliance. Every now and then, you'd see that old Deshaun Watson. The pinpoint accuracy, the ability to extend plays with his legs.
Next, I checked out the Browns' offseason moves. Did they add any weapons? Did they shore up the offensive line?
They sure did! The addition of Elijah Moore is really big in my view.
So, putting it all together, I was on the fence to start. Bad numbers last year, rust, looking very shaky. But then I saw the improvement of the team and the flashes from him, so I was still unsure.
So, I decided to do some mock drafts. A lot of mock drafts. I wanted to see where Watson was going, and how comfortable I felt taking him at that spot.
What I found was, he's going later than you might expect, given his past performance. People are scared off by last year, and that's understandable. But, that also means there's potential value.
In the mock drafts, I experimented. Some drafts I took him early, some I waited. I tracked how my team looked in each scenario.
My Conclusion (For Now):
I'm cautiously optimistic about Watson. I'm not saying he's going to be a top-5 QB, but I think he's going to be better than a lot of people expect. He's got the talent, he's got the weapons, and he's got a full offseason to get back into the groove. I am going to draft Watson.
I'm grabbing him in the middle rounds, where the risk is lower. If he bounces back, I've got a steal. If he doesn't, it's not a season-killer.
This isn't a final verdict, of course. Things can change. Training camp reports, preseason games… I'll be keeping an eye on all of it. But right now, based on my little deep dive, I'm willing to take a chance on Deshaun Watson's upside.
