Houston Texans: Deshaun Watson proving himself in competition
By Luke Sims
Deshaun Watson has to prove he can get better every day in the Houston Texans’ quarterback competition. So far he’s done that.
While Tom Savage has looked pretty good through Houston Texans OTAs, every good report is tempered by enthusiasm for another player at the position: Deshaun Watson. Watson, drafted in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, is the future at the game’s most important position. So no matter how good Savage is, Watson’s shadow looms. And the bar he has to meet is pretty low, too.
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Talking to the press early in June, head coach Bill O’Brien has noted that Watson’s leadership has been impressive thus far and that he is improving every day. More importantly, O’Brien outlined what he expects from his rookie signal caller: “the big thing for him is, he just needs to keep trying to get better every day.”
That statement, coupled with the context of Watson as a first-round selection that the Texans traded up for (giving up the team’s first round pick in 2018 to do so) make sit pretty clear that Watson simply needs to show progress consistently to come out ahead of Savage and Brandon Weeden. That shouldn’t be shocking for fans of the team or those who follow the modern NFL and see young quarterbacks thrown into the fire continually.
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But the Texans have to be careful they don’t get trapped into a situation where they are infatuated with even the most minor aspects of growth. Not everything can be viewed with rose-colored glasses. Just looking at the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars and the team’s insistence that Blake Bortles be the starter is a great example of the kind of blind faith that can doom teams. The Texans’ quarterback competition is widely seen as nothing more than a nominal position battle with an inevitable conclusion: Watson becomes the starter.
As Spin Zone’s Randy Gurzi wonders, “Is there really a quarterback competition?” Gurzi argues that the Texans would be better served by simply handing the keys over now, saying:
"The Texans are saying that there’s competition, but after what they surrendered to get Watson, there better not be. They will be in much better hands if they just state the obvious and hand the keys to their first round pick who they surrendered so much to get."
While there is a certain appeal to that strategy and the Texans would be excused if they followed it, there is also a slippery slope there. Past quarterbacks like Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, Blaine Gabbert, and even Bortles offer a cautionary tale for any franchise contemplating handing the keys over too soon. And sometimes a late-round quarterback like Kirk Cousins does turn out to be the right choice.
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This isn’t to discount Watson or the positive news coming out of the Houston Texans at this moment. But it is wise to keep an eye on the overarching context and not be swayed by the inevitable progress and positivity that will bubble up around a quarterback like Watson every single day.