The Deshaun Watson hype train was chugging along all offseason long as fantasy owners eagerly awaited his return from a torn ACL that cut his rookie season short. Watson was ranked 5th in ESPN’s Preseason QB rankings and Yahoo had him 4th, but nobody was higher on him than our very own Wolf, who had him as his QB1 all offseason and was his QB3 for Week 1 against the Patriots. The results were… ugly. Watson completed just 17-of-34 attempts for a measly 176 yards, 1 TD, and 1 bad end zone INT.
Beyond his shoddy performance, Watson showed some signs that he may not be the fantasy savior we were expecting in his sophomore season. He looked a bit unsure moving on his surgically-repaired knee, taking off to run 8 times but only totaling 40 yards rushing, and he missed open receivers on more than one occasion. New England also didn’t make life easy on him, putting him under duress on 23 of his 42 dropbacks, which is the highest pressure rate any QB has faced in the past 2 seasons.
It’s obviously too early to write Watson off as a total bust, and the impending return of Will Fuller V will certainly open things up a bit more downfield, but Sunday’s performance certainly isn’t what Watson owners were hoping for. Especially with the Texans facing the Jaguars twice this season (PFF’s 2nd ranked pass rush) and a late-season matchup with the Eagles (PFF’s #1 pass rush), the young QB will need to get used to being under pressure behind one of the league’s worst offensive lines. Watson blamed his poor day on low energy and “overthinking little things” and assured that he’ll turn things around in the coming weeks. But, if you used a high draft pick on the young QB, it may be beneficial to begin scouring the waiver wire for potential streaming options while he shakes off the rust.
