Back in the day, Deshaun Watson turned heads as hard as Patrick Mahomes. Of course, times have now changed.
Deshaun Watson’s career with the Cleveland Browns will be a phase of his career that will go down in infamy.
Over the past several years, Deshaun Watson criticism has built to historic levels.
The Cleveland Browns quarterback, however, had plenty of bright moments in his football career. He dominated his way to join the Clemson Tigers, pulling off a national championship upset of the Alabama Crimson Tide at the peak of Nick Saban’s stranglehold on the FBS.
He also showed remarkable potential with the Houston Texans. When he left, some believed the Browns had pulled off a heist in the trade for Watson. While it didn’t go down that way and the quarterback’s career now appears to be on thin ice, Deshaun Watson did enough before the 2021 season to be remembered fondly in 2025 in a specific manner.
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Ryan Clark on Deshaun Watson before he left Texans
Speaking on an April 1 edition of “First Take,” former Steelers veteran Ryan Clark claimed Deshaun Watson was the NFL’s best answer to Patrick Mahomes.
748 Ryan Clark “The last [time] we saw Deshaun Watson play in Houston, there was only one quarterback in the world who played better than him, and that was Patrick Mahomes. He walked off the field at times in Houston, and JJ Watt said, ‘I am sorry we have wasted great years of your life.'”
Clark’s mention pointed to a viral apology given by JJ Watt to Watson for “wasting” the 2020 season for the quarterback. That season, Watson threw for 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions but finished 4-12. It was his last fully 16-game season. If he never gets an opportunity to start again, Watt’s apology will live on as the last public statement given to Watson in his prime.
Deshaun Watson vs Patrick Mahomes
According to Stathead, the production of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson were remarkably similar between 2017 and 2020, Super Bowls and AFC Championship appearances aside.
Deshaun Watson completed 67.8% of his passes for 14539 yards in those years. Mahomes, meanwhile, completed 66% of his passes for 14152 yards. Watson won the comparison in both categories.
Mahomes, however, won out in yards per attempt, yards per game, pass touchdowns and interceptions. In the regular season, both finished with a 1-1 record but Mahomes won their lone playoff matchup.
Coincidentally, many now view CJ Stroud, the Texans’ current quarterback, as one of the best answers to Patrick Mahomes in the AFC. Could Stroud edge out Mahomes with the same team Deshaun Watson played for in his past?
