Bill O'Brien Praises Deshaun Watson's Accuracy, Challenges Scouts' Criticism

Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien praised rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson and his accuracy Tuesday.

According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today, O'Brien insisted that scouts who questioned whether Watson was an accurate passer entering the draft were off-base:

"First of all, his accuracy I think is excellent. I don't know where that came from. I think sometimes there's so much time between the end of the college season and the actual draft that people start just making things up. That's just really my opinion. I mean, this kid can throw the ball. Throws a tight spiral. He's very accurate."

O'Brien also expressed his belief that the accuracy questions emerged from Watson's willingness to take chances:

"I think all young quarterbacks that are any good are risk-takers, so they're going to try to fire it in there into some tight windows, and sometimes that doesn't work out real well for you. That's something that a young quarterback has to learn pretty quickly. I think overall he's made a lot of good decisions during the spring."

The Texans traded up in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft to select Watson at No. 12 overall. While he is currently behind Tom Savage on the depth chart, that may not be the case by the time the season starts.

Watson completed 67 percent of his passes or better in each of his three seasons at Clemson, and he is coming off a campaign that saw him account for 50 touchdowns en route to winning the national championship.

Although the Texans have reached the playoffs in consecutive seasons, instability at quarterback has prevented them from doing much damage in the postseason.

Houston ranked No. 1 in total defense last season despite missing three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt for most of the year. The Texans might be a Super Bowl threat with the presence of a quality quarterback, and O'Brien's comments suggest he believes Watson has the potential to be precisely that.