Getting Watson in last year’s draft was better than a first-round pick this year
By: will-vandervort April 30, 2018

The Houston Texans did not have a first-round pick in last week’s 2018 NFL Draft, and they did not need one because they already have the player they want.

Deshaun Watson was the Texans’ first pick in the 2017 and ’18 Drafts and it was all worth to the Houston organization.

Houston traded up 13 spots with Cleveland from No. 25 to No. 12 to get Watson in the first round of last year’s draft. In doing so, the Texans also gave up this year’s first pick, which turned out to be the No. 4 pick in the draft.

But none of that matter to the Texans. Houston got its man in Watson.

The former Clemson quarterback ended up completing 62 percent of his passes for 1,699 yards and 19 touchdowns before tearing his ACL in his right knee during practice.

Before the injury, Watson was leading the NFL in touchdown passes.

“Somehow I knew if I could get here, if it is possible, which is was, this was going to be the spot,” Watson said in an interview with the Houston Texans Twitter account.

At first, Watson thought he was going to Cleveland. He knew he was going with the 12th or 13th pick and Cleveland owned the 12th pick at the time.

Watson then looked up and saw it was announced that Cleveland traded away their pick to the Texans. He said as he looked at his agent, he saw his cell phone ringing and he knew he was about to be a Houston Texan.

“I said, ‘This is it,’” Watson said. “From there it was chaos. It was media, talking to people, phone calls, text messages, trying to spend time with the family, getting everything figured out for the morning coming here.

“It was fun, but it was crazy at the same time.”

Watson said he remembers all of it like it was yesterday.

“It is one of the moments that I will remember for a long time.”

And so will the Texans and their fans. He was worth not having a first-round pick this year.