Anonymous NFL executive's take on Deshaun Watson

by Tony Crumpton - Assoc. Editor - Thu Oct 06 09:01:35 GMT-04:00 2016

Clemson junior quarterback Deshaun Watson led his team to a thrilling 42-36 comeback victory against Louisville in Death Valley on Saturday night.

An anonymous NFL executive thought that Lamar Jackson looked more like a #1 overall pick than Deshaun Watson.

"The thing I took away from the (Clemson-Louisville) game is that Lamar Jackson has the look of a first (overall) pick, but I don't think (Deshaun) Watson has the same look," the anonymous NFL executive told NFL.com.

MY TAKE: I thought that Watson stepped his game up when it mattered and led his team to a victory when they needed him. Jackson had the stats (457 total yards), some WOW plays, and brought his team back from an 18-point deficit but couldn't get it done in the final minute of the contest. Watson did and that shows leadership to potential NFL teams.

The Louisville signal-caller was impressive with his stamina, acceleration, and throwing the ball while tiring out the Clemson defense. Without Clemson's five costly turnovers, the Clemson offense would have more than likely rolled offensively by exhausting the Louisville defenders. However, what really happened was the Clemson defense was fatigued playing over 90+ plays chasing Lamar Jackson around all evening.

Both quarterbacks should be proud of their performances in Death Valley on Saturday night as it will go down in one of the best quarterback matchups seen in Death Valley for the next decade.

What position will Jackson will play in the NFL one day? He has plenty of time to polish his quarterback play before potentially declaring for the 2018 NFL Draft but I also think he would be an exciting wide receiver prospect using his speed on slants and reverses.

Watson won the Davey O'Brien quarterback award for the week for his performance and he was 20-for-31 (64.5%) for 306 yards with five passing touchdowns and three interceptions for a QBR of 82.7. He also had 14 rushes for 91 yards (6.5 YPC) against Louisville. He has passed for 1302 yards (60.8%) for 14 touchdowns with seven interceptions this season for a QBR of 66.8.

He completed 333 of 491 passes (67.8%) for 4,104 yards and 35 touchdowns and also had 207 rushes for 1105 yards and 12 scores last season. His 5,209 yards of total offense and his 47 total touchdowns were ACC records, and his rushing total was a record for a Clemson quarterback. For his career, he has 6110 passing yards with 53 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.