5 Cleveland Browns who are certified building blocks for the future

2. Deshaun Watson, QB

While Myles Garrett is a legit superstar right now, proven with consistency over the last three seasons, there are a few more question marks surrounding Deshaun Watson.

Once upon a time, Deshaun Watson was one of the league's best up-and-coming superstars at the most important position. He came into the league the same year as Patrick Mahomes, and although Watson had obstacles in his first few years in the NFL, there was a school of thought that he was on par with Mahomes in terms of his overall trajectory in the league as an annual MVP candidate.

That's why the Browns traded what they did to get him despite his plethora of off-field issues, and that's why they paid the type of money they did to get him under contract for the long haul.

At this point, the last time we really saw Watson playing at a high level was all the way back in 2020. He sat out the entire 2021 season and was suspended for 11 games in 2022, and the sample we saw at the end of the 2022 season wasn't the greatest.

So why can we consider Deshaun Watson a true building block for the future of the Cleveland Browns? Well, he really has to be. There's no other choice. The Browns have invested so much money and NFL Draft capital here that Watson absolutely has to prove to be a certified building block for the future, and it starts in 2023.