When the Cleveland Browns traded a boatload of draft picks and spent a ton of money on QB Deshaun Watson prior to the 2022 season, we are sure they felt their quarterback issues were taken care of for several years.
However, Watson has not been under center since the move was made more often than he has played due to league suspension and injury. And really, when Watson has played, he has not resembled the player who put up 4823 yards through the air in 2020 with the Texans.
Of the five highest yardage games for the Browns in the 2023 season, Watson was at the helm for one of them, the 26-22 loss to Pittsburgh in week two. The Browns moved well that day, and Watson completed 22 of 40 throws for 235 yards, but had an interception on the game’s first play and two fumbles, one of which resulted in another Pittsburgh touchdown.
The other four games which resulted in the most yardage gained with the quarterback who played:
428 yards vs. the Jets (Joe Flacco)
418 yards vs. the Texans (Flacco)
389 yards vs. the Jaguars (Flacco)
385 yards vs. the Seahawks (P.J. Walker)
To be fair, if we extend this to the top ten games, Watson played in three of those–Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Tennessee.
In Watson’s first year, in which he was suspended for the Browns’ first 12 games, the game he moved the ball in the best was a 23-10 loss to the Bengals in week 14, which ranked 9th for the Browns that year.
Watson was 26 of 42 in that one for 276 yards with a TD throw and an interception.
Of the five lowest yardage games for Cleveland, Watson was at the helm for four of them.
That has to be concerning for the organization.
The Browns changes offensive coordinators this season, bringing in Ken Dorsey, who had success working with Cam Newton in Carolina. This was done to “unlock” Watson, to get him back to the player he was in Houston.
They talk about adding more weapons to the offensive, giving Watson more to work with. However, we keep coming back to these facts: Cleveland scored 30 or more points five times last season. Three of those games came with Flacco behind center, one came with Watson, and the other with Walker.
We think there should be a meeting in the middle with the QB. There is no question so far the offense runs better with other quarterbacks than the one the Browns have made a substantial investment in.
So, bringing in a coach more in tune with Watson’s style of play is fine, anything to make him more comfortable is a good thing. However, Watson should also be making an effort to fit with what worked at the end of 2023.
There is no question the Browns moved the football better and scored more points with Joe Flacco at the position. It’s probably the reason the changes were made to the coaching staff, the front office is concerned about the huge investment that was made.
For the Browns to succeed in 2024, they need more consistent play from Deshaun Watson. They’ve invested a lot of draft capital and money in the former Texan, and so far, it hasn’t paid off.
Hopefully, the new coordinator can help Watson, and he can put his ego aside and go ahead and run the offense like it was in the second half of last season.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 