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Houston Texans: Was Trading Up For Deshaun Watson Worth It?

By Dan Parzych

Apr 27, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Deshaun Watson (Clemson) poses with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (right) as he is selected as the number 12 overall pick to the Houston Texans in the first round the 2017 NFL Draft at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 27, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Deshaun Watson (Clemson) poses with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (right) as he is selected as the number 12 overall pick to the Houston Texans in the first round the 2017 NFL Draft at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Houston Texans traded up with the Cleveland Browns in order to land former Clemson standout quarterback Deshaun Watson at No. 12.

Heading into the 2017 NFL Draft, one of the biggest questions surrounding some of this year’s top quarterbacks was whether Clemson’s Deshaun Watson was worthy of a first-round selection. Thanks to the Houston Texans, football fans will eventually find out whether Watson deserved to fall into that category after the team decided to use the 12th overall pick to draft the Tigers quarterback.

In what ended up being one of many surprises from the first round on draft night, the Texans traded up with the Cleveland Browns in order to select Watson at No. 12. With teams like the Arizona Cardinals potentially using their first rounder on a quarterback, Houston realized they needed to act fast if they truly wanted to bring Watson on board.

After leading Clemson to a thrilling victory over Alabama in the National Championship last January, it was clear that one team would eventually consider Watson with his strong resume, but this could easily turn into a decision Houston ends up regretting. As impressive as the 76 touchdown passes thrown by Watson over his last two seasons with the Tigers are, the 30 interceptions should give the Texans plenty of reasons for concern.

Once again, the quarterback position seems to be the one area holding Houston back from being stronger contenders in the AFC, but it’s tough not to wonder if Watson still would have been available later on in the first round.

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Until Watson proves he’s not going to make some of the same mistakes he made over the last two years at Clemson, the Texans are free from too much scrutiny for now. However, the debate can be made that he won’t even start in 2017 if Bill O’Brien feels confident enough in Tom Savage. Is that truthfully worth giving up next year’s first-round pick? We’ll find out soon enough, it would seem.

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