Former Clemson offensive coordinator, now SMU head football coach, Chad Morris has a message for NFL coaches and general managers when it comes to the decision of drafting or not drafting Deshaun Watson in April’s NFL Draft.
“I wouldn’t pass on him,” Morris told the Dallas Morning News. “He’s going to hurt you if you pass on him.”
Morris knows Watson as well as anyone. Before going to SMU, he recruited Watson to Clemson and coached him his freshman season. The two have stayed in close touch since Morris left to take over the SMU job following the end of the 2014 regular season.
When looking at all the mock drafts, it appears Watson is a lock to be selected in the first round. However, the experts have him anywhere from No. 2 to No. 25.
The biggest reason he varies from expert to expert is primarily due to the fact Watson has thrown 30 interceptions the last two seasons, which led all FBS quarterbacks. Then there is the fact he plays big on the biggest of stages.
“There is some concern about his ability to make accurate throws down the field and also his (nature) for turnovers. He has thrown thirty interceptions in the last two years,” said NFL.com draft analyst Bucky Brooks. “You wonder can he be a guy that takes care of the football in a pro-style offense.”
Watson finished his Clemson career with a 32-3 record, the best in school history, including a two-minute drive for the ages to beat Alabama in the national championship game on Jan. 9. With 2:01 left on the clock and his team down three points, Watson led the Tigers on a 68-yard, 9-play drive, which he capped with a two-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow with one second left.
It was the fourth-time in 2016 Watson threw a game-winning touchdown pass in the fourth quarter or overtime. He also had comeback wins against Louisville and Florida State.
“When I look at him on tape, I see those concerns, but I also see a guy that is an ultra-competitor,” Brooks said. “He is a guy that understands how to take his game up a notch when it is needed. As an evaluator, you always look to see how guys perform in big games, and in the last two championship games combined, he is 66 of 103, 825 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception. And who can forget that last minute game-winning drive that he led against Alabama?
“He kind of showcases all the clutch skills that you want from the position.”
Watson told the media, prior to accepting his Davey O’Brien Award on Monday he plans to do all the workouts at the NFL Scouting Combine which begins next Tuesday in Indianapolis, Ind. He says he hears his critics, and what they are saying about his body type and those kinds of things.
“It’s weird,” Watson said according the Dallas Morning News. “The height is the height. This is how God made me. My hands are this size. I can’t really control that.”
For NFL quarterback Jim McMahon, who led the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl title in 1985, does not see any concerns regarding Watson’s size or his ability to handle a pro-style offense.
“Just watching him play, I thought the kid’s got skills, and he’s got smarts,” said McMahon, who was at the dinner with Watson on Monday and received the Legends Award.
“It looked to me like he was going through his progressions, he understood what was happening on the other side of the ball. I think he’s got a real bright future.”
A future Morris said no NFL team should pass on if they need a quarterback.
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