Deshaun Watson Has All the Tools to Finally Be the Answer for QB-Starved Texans

The Houston Texans know what quarterback incompetence looks like. Or if we're being generous and polite, they know what below-average quarterback play looks like.

They know it well. They know how it can derail an otherwise promising season. They know it can snuff out championship-contending hopes when every other area of the roster is at that level. They know subpar quarterback play can waste the efforts of a menacing defense.

So when Deshaun Watson fell out of the top 10 in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft, their next move was rooted in desperation. They had to leap way up and then pounce.

The Texans jumped from the No. 25 pick to No. 12 in a trade with the Cleveland Browns to get Watson. The Texans sacrificed significant future draft capital by giving the Browns their 2018 first-round pick, which means the sting will go that much deeper if Watson fails.

The price paid by the Texans to restore competence at quarterback includes another trade made with the Browns: the one where they admitted a colossal mistake with Brock Osweiler and gave Cleveland a second-round pick to take him off their hands.

To review, then: The Browns own the Texans' first two picks in 2018, all because Houston became the shining, radioactive example for what quarterback thirst can do to a franchise.

Yet they'll likely regret nothing in the very near future. Watson has the skill set to finally, and mercifully, ease the Texans' quarterback pain.

He already has the approval of one new teammate who's had to deal with lots of wobbly footballs thrown in his direction:

DeAndre Hopkins has soldiered on through plenty of heartbreak at quarterback during his four NFL seasons. His 2,475 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns over the past two years are even more remarkable when you remember who was on the other end of those throws.

A trip down the most cringe-filled memory lane shows how low the bar is for Watson in Houston. It's been lowered to somewhere around the Earth's crust.

Since 2015 the Texans have had to start Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, T.J. Yates, Brandon Weeden, Brock Osweiler and Tom Savage. That's quite the crew of journeymen and mid-round picks.

They still won nine games in both the 2015 and 2016 seasons, winning their division each year. Those titles were earned by a punishing and swarming defense that ranked third in 2015 while allowing 310.2 yards per game and first in 2016 at 301.3 yards.

But even with Hopkins' weekly acrobatics and their snot-rattling defense, the Texans haven't been able to advance past the divisional round of the playoffs. That's why Watson was worth the heavy investment after his sparkling career at Clemson.

He's a quarterback who knows the spotlight well and thrives in it. The 21-year-old seemed far more mature than his age over the past two seasons when he led his offense against Alabama in national championship games. Clemson split those two games against the Crimson Tide, and Watson used them as a stage to solidify himself as a top-tier prospect.

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Watson threw for a combined 825 yards against the juggernaut Alabama defense in college football's showcase game with seven touchdown passes and only one interception. His poise was highlighted by two touchdown throws in the fourth quarter of the 2017 championship game, one with only seconds left.

When a team like the Texans has seen quarterbacks repeatedly flounder under pressure, there's value in the intangibles and crunch-time qualities that are difficult to quantify. Watson has proved himself in moments when it would be easy to melt.

He's performed well in the massive moments, the small moments and everything in between. Watson finished his time at Clemson with a per-attempt passing average of 8.4 yards and a passer rating of 157.5. He also completed 67.4 percent of his passes and in 2016 threw for 4,593 yards.

But Watson is more than a passer, and he can create plays while navigating the chaos around him. His 6'2", 221-pound body moves swiftly in the open field as he exploits running lanes. Watson ran for 1,934 yards and 26 touchdowns during his collegiate career.

As ESPN Stats and Information noted, there was plenty of variety in Watson's touchdown scoring:

The area of concern is a familiar one for quarterbacks coming from a spread offense.

That's a system where reads are simplified and the quarterback often doesn't have to scan the full field. As a result, Watson has hiccups when he seems to lack fundamental vision. There will be plays when he makes a poor decision and jams a ball into tight coverage. Or worse, he sometimes simply doesn't see a defender.

In 2016 that resulted in 17 interceptions. Many of those interceptions weren't due to pressure and Watson's feeling rushed. He finished tied for the most interceptions thrown from a clean pocket (14), according to Pro Football Focus, which shows his reads need to improve.

But he's landed with a quarterback whisperer head coach in Bill O'Brien, who somehow coaxed back-to-back 9-7 regular-season records from the aforementioned clown car of QBs. There was an instant connection between the coach and his future quarterback during a predraft visit, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport:

O'Brien told reporters Savage is still the Texans' starting quarterback right now, meaning at least some patience will greet Watson as he starts his NFL career.

Which is wise, because Watson needs time to adjust and develop at the professional level. As he does that, Savage can warm his seat, and a suffocating defense can keep charging ahead.

Watson has the tools to bring the Texans to a place that's become foreign. He can be a quarterback who wins games instead of one who stands in the way of wins.