By Bashir Umar Pemberton

I took out the time to watch eleven games from Clemson Quarterback Deshaun Watson’s 2015 season, and came away pretty impressed. I give you my breakdown of his strengths, weaknesses, and his draft grade heading into the 2016 College Football season.

Deshaun Watson Jr. QB Clemson 6’2 210 lbs

23 Career Games 426-628 68% 5,570 yards 49 Pass TD 15 Int

270 Car 1,305 Rushing Yards 12 Rush TD

Strengths

At 6’2 and about 210 pounds, Watson has more than enough size to play quarterback at the NFL level. While some believe in a prototype height, quarterbacks like Drew Brees and Russell Wilson, who are both listed at six feet tall have proven this theory to not be an exact science with their success. He has big hands, which allow him to have great control of the football even when the ball may be slick due to the weather. 



When scouting potential NFL quarterbacks in college, the first thing I look for is the ability to play and win inside of the pocket. Watson wins inside of the pocket on a consistent basis with his ability to see the field, process information, and throw accurate darts to all three levels of the field. He has a quick, compact delivery, and does a good job transferring his weight from the back to the front foot, which aids in his accuracy. He doesn’t wither under pressure, on numerous occasions while watching his film, he stands in that pocket and delivers strikes while getting ready to get planted into the ground.




His ability to throw the deep ball with accuracy on a consistent basis is excellent. He does a great job putting enough air on the ball, allowing his receivers to run under the football. A majority of his passes downfield resemble a long handoff. The ability to threaten a defense deep is a huge asset in the NFL.




He throws with very good anticipation on the deep digs and passes to the tight end up the seam, showing the ability to fit the ball in tight areas between defenders. He is willing to throw the football in windows, before the receiver makes his break, and throwing them open. In the Championship Game from last season, his ability to pass the ball was on full display.




While he is an special talent as a passer, his ability to make plays with his feet on designed plays or when things breakdown, is what sets him apart.  He can extend plays by getting out of the pocket allowing his guys more time to get open and he is a very accurate passer on the move. He can get first downs on planned runs or on scrambles. He shows the toughness and willingness to take a hard hit in order to get a needed first down.




When you talk about intangibles, Watson has checked off positively thus far in his college career. He’s a leader on the field, who has played with injuries, and has shown up in the biggest games for his teammates. He hasn’t had any reported issues off of the field pertaining to substance abuse, abusing women and the likes. 




Weaknesses




Watson has had a medley of injuries in his short time at Clemson, which is a concern in my opinion. In two seasons, he’s broken his collarbone, broken his right hand, strained his LCL and tore his ACL. NFL General Managers will be watching him close in 2016 to see if he can remain injury free as he did last season. The coaches call a lot of designed runs for him, which I have no issue with, but he has to learn how to protect himself by sliding and avoiding the amount of direct shots he’s taken in his career. The hits in the NFL are much more harder as the athletes are the best of the best.




At times Watson will sail football high because of him losing his normally good mechanics. Also on different occasions he forced the football into double coverage instead of taking the checkdown, something that I believe will get better with more playing time.  He also would lose sight of the linebackers in underneath coverage, this happened early on in the season, but his awareness and understanding of coverage got better as the season progressed.




Preseason Draft Grade: Top Ten Pick


 Watson has the skill set to be drafted in the top ten of this draft and be a franchise quarterback. HIs ability to pass the ball is what sets him apart from other quarterbacks who can run. He’s clean off of the field and my only concern to this point is his history of injuries. With another full season as starter and more game experience he could challenge to be the top pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.