Deshaun Watson’s fantasy football outlook for 2023 widely varies depending on who you ask. Some analysts believe that his performance in 2022 was just a bump in the road, while others believe that it was an indication that his play had experienced a significant drop-off.
In Pro Football Network’s NFL Insider Adam Caplan’s recent notebook, he shed some light on what fantasy managers could expect from the 27-year-old QB this upcoming season.
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Deshaun Watson Is Having a Strong Offseason
After Watson was part of a massive trade package that sent him from the Houston Texans to the Browns, expectations for the former Pro Bowl QB were sky-high for a franchise that’s desperately needed a savior at football’s most important position for decades.
Those expectations only rose higher as Watson was handed a five-year, $230 million contract that the Browns fully guaranteed.
Fantasy managers that rostered Watson during his dominant run in Houston expected him to step right into Cleveland and perform at a similar level — despite not playing since the end of the 2020 season — yet they were sorely disappointed.
The veteran QB completed less than 60% of his passes in the six games he played last season, and he threw for just seven touchdowns to five interceptions.
However, according to Caplan, Watson is having a strong offseason that’s causing the Browns to have some optimism for the upcoming season.
“The source said the areas of improvement were better command of the offensive scheme and accuracy — and both areas were clearly issues last season.”
With Watson having better command of the offense, plus the addition of speedster Elijah Moore to the WR corps, we could see a major bounce-back season from the former star QB.
While his ADP steadily rises as the offseason moves along, he may be worth taking a shot on if the other top options at the position are all off the board in your fantasy football drafts.