The Watson vs. Trubisky debate continues as NFL Draft nears
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Deshaun Watson led Clemson to the national championship this past season, taking down college football’s Goliath in Alabama.
The former five-star quarterback almost beat the Crimson Tide for the national title two years ago as well. He twice threw for more than 4,000 yards, this season going for 4,593.
Watson had a combined 76 passing touchdowns in the last two campaigns, Clemson went 28-2 during that stretch, and he established himself as one of college football’s best players.
So as the NFL Draft approaches later this week, why is it that there are so many questions surrounding Watson, and teams looking for a quarterback early in the first round seem sold on taking North Carolina’s Mitchell Trubisky, a one-year starter?
“This is what I don’t understand,” Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell said. “Everybody who is smart about quarterbacks seems to love Deshaun Watson. They love his intangibles, they love his leadership, they love his gamesmanship, his ability to stay calm in situations and lead fourth-quarter comebacks.
“So it makes no sense to me why Trubisky is the guy Cleveland is rumored to be debating whether he’s No. 1 or not. It makes no sense. When you go back to guys who don’t have a tremendous resume – Mark Sanchez, Akili Smith – who had one year of success in college, generally it doesn’t pan out that well.”
Don’t be confused. Trubisky was fantastic this season, completing 68 percent of his passes for 3,748 yards with 30 touchdowns and six picks. He was impressive at the NFL Combine, showing off great dual-threat abilities. Trubisky might be a fine pick.
But only 13 starts under his belt is a concern. North Carolina losing three of its last four games is a worry. There are issues surrounding Watson, but by no means is Trubisky a no-brainer to be the first quarterback taken.
“Do the 13 starts concern me? Yes, they do,” ESPN NFL analyst Jon Gruden said. “I don’t remember many quarterbacks coming out with just 13 career starts. (North Carolina) didn’t finish strong, either. They lost in the bowl game to Stanford. The Virginia Tech game was not good. They lost to Duke in a big game. They had a pretty good supporting cast around him. You’re going to see Bug Howard, (Ryan) Switzer, you’re going to see (T.J.) Logan, you’re going to see some of those men drafted.
“I would’ve liked to have seen (Trubisky) stay, but he is talented, he did get results, he did have some really good moments, in Tallahassee against FSU, bringing them back to beat Pitt. He is a dual-threat. A lot of people don’t realize how athletic Trubisky is, but he is still a big mystery to a lot of people.”
There is no riddle surrounding Watson, whose concern for NFL decision-makers is interceptions. He threw 17 this past season and 13 a year ago.
Gruden does not give Watson a pass. It’s certainly something to address, something to consider for San Francisco, the New York Jets, Cleveland and other teams looking for a quarterback in the first round, but is it enough to steer those teams to Trubisky instead?
“Interceptions are a big concern,” Gruden said. “We spent a lot of time looking at that. A lot of the interceptions, you can find, he will take full responsibility for. He may have forced it, he may have misread the coverage, perhaps, he missed a throw, and there are a number of those interceptions that aren’t his fault at all. We tried to point out some of those tipped passes, wide receivers not on the same page, not reading the coverage properly.
“I challenged him to slow it down, isolate the 32 interceptions (in Watson’s career) and put them all into categories and see which ones you can eliminate. I don’t think he was guilty of overthrowing passes or throwing the ball poorly, or making bad decisions too many times, but I do think there are some correctable things that he needs to take out of his game. He’s played a lot more games than all the other quarterbacks. Back-to-back seasons they’ve played 15 games, they use an up-tempo style, so they’re having a lot of snaps, but I do think some of them are correctable and he’ll fix those.”
The heated debate over whether Trubisky or Watson should be the first quarterback taken will rage all the way to Thursday’s NFL Draft and probably beyond it.
Watson has the championship ring but also some warts. Trubisky has all the physical skills, one excellent season, but a short resume.
If Gruden was making the pick, it sounds like Watson. But the way it’s shaping up, it sure looks like the North Carolina QB will be the first signal-caller taken.
“(Watson’s) body of work impressed me the most,” Gruden said. “He was in back-to-back national championship games. He beat the best team in college football. I love the poise he plays with.
“He plays his best football when they’re behind and all the chips are on the table. He did it in the national championship game. He’s got thick skin. He’s mentally tough. I saw him overcome three interceptions to beat Louisville. I saw him come back on the road to beat Florida State in the two-minute drill. I just like his poise, his mental toughness and I like his overall game. He’s athletic, he’s a dual-threat and he’s got the intangibles everyone craves.”
But will all that be good enough Thursday night?
