Chris Simms of NBC Sports got a discussion going on who the best deep ball thrower was in the NFL, and he apparently turned some heads when he said it was the Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson.
According to Doug Farrar of the Touchdown Wire, the best deep ball quarterback in the game today is none other than the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes. That isn’t too surprising. Nonetheless, Farrar went ahead and broke down how Watson fares compared to his peers.
Sorry to go hard against Chris Simms here, but placing Watson at the top of the deep-ball list is an impossible errand at this point in his career. Last season, the Texans’ talented quarterback completed 38 of 84 deep balls for 1,313 yards and 11 touchdowns, but he also threw five deep-ball interceptions, and these were not events in which his receivers gave up. Watson is still susceptible to underthrowing his guys on seam and post routes, and cornerbacks can read his intentions and jump his routes. Unfortunately, this situation will be further complicated by Bill O’Brien’s seeming intention to trade or dump every player with any talent on Houston’s roster.
Incidentally, O’Brien’s strategy in 2020 is to surround Watson with speedy playmakers who can take advantage of his deep ball abilities. Enter Brandin Cooks, who the Texans acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams.
“There’s a lot of speed on this offense already,” Cooks said on April 30. “Usually I can say that, but you’ve got guys that are able to blow the top off from every single position in this offense.”
In addition to Cooks, Watson will have his choice of Will Fuller, incumbent speedy receiver, Kenny Stills, and Randall Cobb, who will be more of a shifty slot receiver than a downright burner on the outside.
NFL fans will get to judge for themselves who the best deep ball thrower in the game is on Sept. 10 when the Texans face the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in a rematch of the 2019 AFC divisional playoffs.
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