Could Watson win Comeback Player of the Year?
By: Jake Rajala
There have been a lot of mixed reactions surrounding the news that Deshaun Watson has taken first team reps ahead of Shedeur Sanders. Watson has a much better resume than Sanders, to be fair. Sure Sanders went to the Pro Bowl. Well, Joe Flacco also went to the Pro Bowl.
Sanders threw more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (7) last season. Watson has never thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in a single season. Furthermore, the son of Deion Sanders went 3-4 last season. Let’s compare his record to other rookie QBs. Tyler Shough went 5-4 and Jaxson Dart went 4-8.
Let’s not forget that Watson was once an MVP candidate. He’s also 30 years old, so I refuse to believe those days are unreachable. In 2020, he threw the most passing yards (4,823) and he also threw 33 touchdowns to several interceptions. J.J. Watt even apologized to him that they didn’t do enough to help him in his prolific season. I believe his off field issues may have cloud his work ethic as of late.
In 2023, Watson went 5-1 with the Browns. He didn’t light up the stat sheet, but he did a fine job of slowly breaking down his foes.
Watson plays a position that is popular for Comeback Player of the Year, which is obviously QB. Joe Burrow won it twice, with his most recent in 2024. In 2023, Joe Flacco won it. Geno Smith it in 2022, Burrow won it in 2021, Alex Smith won it in 2020, Ryan Tannehill won it in 2021, and Andrew Luck won it in 2020.
I don’t love the ammunition that Watson has on offense. He was able to dismantle defenses with DeAndre Hopkins, who was a Top-5 WR at the time. He has Jerry Jeudy with him. I don’t believe Jeudy is a Top-10 WR.
The Browns could still move Watson to a new team. If they love how Sanders (or Dillon Gabriel) is performing and a team offers a mid round pick for Watson, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they sent him packing.
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