Former Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson isn’t just bringing a winning pedigree to the Cleveland Browns; he is bringing a rare level of explosiveness.
Although Watson’s mobility and improvisation are the traits that often drew attention at Clemson, his passing ability has significantly improved since joining the league in 2017. In his last season of play in 2020, Watson led the league in passing yards with 4,823 and added 444 yards on the ground.
After being traded from the Houston Texans to the Browns, Watson will now look to use those passing skills on a new team and in a new system.
According to CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso, Watson’s most valuable asset to Cleveland will be his downfield passing. Here’s what Trapasso had to say.
Watson is a lot of things, including one of the game’s most prolific, drop-it-in-the-bucket downfield passers. Among active quarterbacks, no one has a higher completion percentage (43.9%) on throws made more than 20 yards downfield since 2018 (his first full season as a starter).
His 103.9 rating on those long balls is ninth in the NFL during that time frame. And the last time we saw Watson, quarterbacking a brutal Texans team in one of the most unique seasons at the position in NFL history, he threw 11 deep touchdowns to only three interceptions.
Watson has learned the home run is a large component of his game, and his average depth of target (aDOT) figure has reflected that — he’s only finished outside the top 10 in aDOT once (2018) and led the league as a rookie in that category.
Watson still faces 23 civil lawsuits and a potential suspension, but if he does play in 2022, his downfield passing could cause problems for opposing defenses, especially with the team’s offensive talent.
Along with a dynamic running back duo in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, the Browns added wide receiver Amari Cooper to their offense. He doesn’t have the same high-end speed as Watson’s former teammate Will Fuller, but Cooper should…
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