It’s not exactly a secret that current Cleveland Browns starting quarterback Deshaun Watson had a mixed reception among his own fans given his dubious off-the-field activities. This was made none the better by his frankly abysmal outing in his first year as a starter for the Browns. The excuses about how he was away from football for over a year can work temporarily, but if this stretch of play continues, there is little to stop new fan-favorite quarterback and freshly minted backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson from receiving chants from fans and media alike to be slid in for starting snaps.
While it may come off as a bit of an overreaction to a stellar preseason performance, Thompson-Robinson really did look like the real deal. Combine that with his gritty story of having to grind through multiple college teams, and his most recent blindside block and Cleveland could certainly hear calls for the rookie should the season not kick off as expected.
Thompson-Robinson boasted a 105.5 average quarterback rating, 64% completion percentage, over 400 yards passing, and a pair of touchdowns in his first set of preseason games. Looking prepared, snappy, and with a live arm, Thompson-Robinson could be a diamond in the rough for a Cleveland team that wasn’t even necessarily digging to find it.