Deshaun Watson, Alex Smith, and How College Spread QBs Can Work in the NFL

[IDEXAN]

NFL teams have been trying to project quarterbacks from college spread offensesfor over a decade now, and coaches have tried just about everything to make it work.

The Redskins imported the Baylor offense for Robert Griffin III, and the Niners brought in Nevada’s pistol for Colin Kaepernick. The Panthers built in spread concepts for Cam Newton, and the Broncos turned their offense upside-down to make it work, short-term, for Tim Tebow. There were fits and starts; some experiments worked while others didn’t.
And then cameSunday night’s Chiefs-Texans game, and it was all there for us to see.

On one side, one of the first college spread QBs to be drafted high—Kansas City’s Alex Smith—was playing in a classic pro-style offense that’s been radicalized over the last two years with all kinds of spread concepts that fit his skillset. On the other side, Houston rookie Deshaun Watson, just getting his feet wet, had his coaches doing all they could to put him in position to compete in his first NFL season. We saw the template for what the finished product should look like playing against the blueprint for how to get started.And, again, all the answers seemed to be there in plain sight in Houston on Sunday night. Want to take it to another level? Well, how about this: When Jordan Palmer, the man who trained Watson for the NFL draft, was asked by front-office types in March and April for a comp on the Clemson star, he never hesitated.
“Every single time I said Alex Smith,” Palmer said on Monday night. “They’re the same size, same speed, same quick release. Both have pretty strong arms, but not the strongest in the league. Neither guy is 6' 5", and both are really intelligent and phenomenal people. And they both came from productive spread offenses, and were runners up for the Heisman.

“The difference is, Alex is more polished mechanically, and Deshaun has no scars—he’s won big games, played great all the way through. Alex got beat up a little more.”

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/10/10/2018-nfl-draft-deshaun-watson-alex-smith-spread-quarterbacks

 

[Bulls on Parade]

The Texans have scored 33, 57 and 34 points in their last three games with an exciting rookie quarterback. We lost two of those games to Tom Brady and Alex Smith: Two quarterbacks which have been at it for years and years in the pros. I can't wait to see how amazing Deshaun can become with more experience and also talent around him.

Our offensive line can use a couple upgrades, if not three, and we can use a play-making tight end. Ryan Griffin shows up one week and disappears the next. And C.J. Fiedorowicz, slowed down by injuries this year, never became the big-time stud at tight end that I was expecting when he shined at Iowa.

Watson has nothing like the great security blanket over the middle of the field that Tom Brady and Alex Smith both have at tight end in Gronk and Kelce, two All-Pros. I still think we need another dynamic wideout because Will Fuller hasn't exactly been Mr. consistency yet. He flashes greatness and teases us at times, but then he'll drop a pass and frustrate us. Also injuries have slowed him down this year.

Deshaun Watson is more athletic than Tom Brady ever was coming out of Michigan (Brady had a dad bod way back then!), but what makes him special to me is Watson has very high football IQ. He's very intelligent. He wants to get better just like Tom Brady as a rookie was determined to get better. It's like Watson is Brady, in terms of his willingness to learn and improve, but with much better athleticism. Tom Brady is a big fan of Dehsuan Watson. He gave him very high praise and admired his game. Brady even joked that if he had Watson's athleticism he would have been the #1 overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. Not a sixth-round selection.

We have the right quarterback in place. A franchise guy. Now it's just a matter of being patient and watching this thing grow for many years to come. We're finally in a good position as a franchise. It only took 15 years!