Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson went from being a premium fantasy football commodity to embattled in a sexual harassment scandal that cost him all of 2021 and the first 13 weeks of the ’22 season. He returned in Week 13 to look as rusty as one would expect following such a lengthy layoff, completing 12 of his 22 attempts for a mere 131 yards and an interception. It didn’t get much better from there.
No one should have been surprised by the lack of passing success over the six-game stretch last year, though Watson showed glimpses of his trademark rushing skills. We saw a small sample of his former self during the final two games of the regular season as he accounted for five touchdown throws and posted 23.6 and 23.9 fantasy points, respectively. In total, he completed a career-low 58.2 percent of his passes for 183.7 yards per game and averaged only 17.8 points in fake football. His previous career low was 24.8 points in 2018.