Clemson’s Deshaun Watson plans to throw at the NFL Scouting Combine later this month.
Watson, who a little more than three weeks ago led the Tigers to the national championship, told the Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller that he plans to throw at the combine, which will be held on Feb. 28-March 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
Watson also indicated to Miller that he will run at the combine as well. He is hoping to run a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash.
Deshaun Watson told me the plan is to throw at the Combine and run the 40. He's hoping to get in the 4.5 range. Weighs 218 now.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) February 2, 2017
If Watson does throw, he will be one of the few top prospects that will. Most of the top quarterbacks like to throw at their own pro day so they can throw to receivers they are familiar with and to control the situation better.
Some critics, like ESPN’s Todd McShay and Mel Kiper, Jr., have questioned Watson’s accuracy on the intermediate to mid-range throws down the field.
Watson completed 67 percent of his 579 attempts, third most in the country. He threw 132 fewer passes than North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky, yet he is just one percentage point behind Trubisky, who completed 68 percent of his passes.
Kiper and McShay both have Trubisky ahead of Watson on their boards, as well as Notre Dame’s DeShone Kiser, who completed just 58.7 percent of his passes.
Watson’s 67 completion percentage average ranked 10th nationally, and second in the ACC. The Clemson quarterback completed 36-of-56 passes (64.3 percent) for 420 yards and three touchdowns in the Tigers’ win over Alabama’s top-ranked defense in the national title game.
For the season, Watson threw for 4,593 yards and 41 touchdowns. His yards total ranked third nationally, while his touchdown passes were tied for third.
Watson finished his career with a 32-3 record as Clemson’s starting quarterback. He is the school’s all-time leader on a percentage basis (.914) and tied Tajh Boyd (32-8, 2010-13) and Rodney Williams (32-10-2, 1985-88) for the most wins by a starting signal caller.
For his efforts against Alabama, Watson was named the Most Valuable Player, the third game in four College Football Playoff contests, in which he received MVP honors. Watson finished with 420 passing yards and four total touchdowns.
Watson broke the Clemson single-season record that he set last season for touchdown responsibility. His four touchdowns against the Crimson Tide gave him 50 for the year. He threw three touchdown passes as well, allowing him to pass Jameis Winston of Florida State for an ACC record 41 touchdowns over the course of the season.
In two National Championship games against Alabama, Watson compiled 941 yards of total offense and accounted for eight touchdowns.
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