Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney calls Deshaun Watson a one in a million kind of player, and the Cleveland Browns, or anyone else who needs a quarterback in the NFL, would be foolish to pass over him.
Of course Swinney came to the aid of his former quarterback on Tuesday after Watson started receiving criticism from draft experts after he declined to participate in this week’s Senior Bowl. The Browns, who have the first pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, are one of the staff’s coaching in the Senior Bowl.
Swinney said if a franchise like Cleveland wants to change its culture, then getting Watson should be a no brainer.
“For me, it’s through discipline and recruiting and staffing and all that stuff. For them, it’s decision-making. It’s who you pick,” the Clemson coach said in article on ESPN. “He would be the easiest player [Browns coach Hue Jackson has] ever coached. I’m sure he’s coached some good ones, and so have I. But [Watson is] just simple. Very low maintenance, humble, the same guy every day and always ready. Comes to every meeting prepared.
“He’s the greatest preparer that I’ve been around. He loves it. You know, he graduated in three years. This is a driven, focused kid that’s been way too busy being great to be distracted by anything. So he’s just ready for the moment. He’s so prepared. And it’s been that way forever.”
Watson loves to be challenged, too. Already a student of the game and known for spending hours and hours watching and studying his opponents as well as himself, when Watson learned he was going to be playing Bud Foster’s Virginia Tech defense in the ACC Championship Game he took it up another notch. He immediately hit the tapes as he tried to look for tendencies or anything that could help him read what Foster might try and pull against him.
The end result, Watson completed 23 of 34 passes for 288 yards, threw three touchdowns and ran for two more scores. The end result was a 42-35 victory in which he tallied 373 total yards.
Watson had 316 total yards and four touchdowns against Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl and then he carved up Alabama’s No. 1-ranked defense for 463 total yards and four touchdowns in the national championship game. He threw for 420 yards against Nick Saban’s defense—the second straight year he threw for more than 400 yards against the Crimson Tide—while completing 36 of 56 passes with no interceptions.
Watson finished the game with a classic 9-play, 68-yard game-winning drive in the final two minutes, which he capped with a game-winning pass to Hunter Renfrow with one second left on the clock.
It’s performing in those kinds of moments, when the world is watching, is what Swinney says makes Watson so great, and why no NFL team should pass over him.
“I think he’s done plenty. If they can’t evaluate [his career accomplishments], a week at the Senior Bowl isn’t gonna change anything,” Swinney said. “He’ll be ready. He’ll have all the workouts and combines and pro days and all that stuff. Just turn on the tape, and get to know him.
“When people really get to know who he is, not just watching him on film, he’s one in a million.”
—Photo Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
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