Deshaun Watson left off best QB lists

Deshaun Watson was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL back in 2020 but he has to prove he can still get it done before getting national praise

When Deshaun Watson last started for an entire season, he had an NFL-best 4,823 yards while completing 70.2 percent of his attempts. He also boasted an impressive 33-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

His critics point to the 4-12 record he had with the Houston Texans but he had just led them to a combined 21-10 record the previous two years before the roster started to get gutted.

Even with his early success, he's not being touted among the best in the game and there are some Cleveland Browns fans who have noticed. One such fan recently asked Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com why Watson, who was playing at an elite level when he last started a full season, is being left off the majority of these lists.

"For starters, it’s a “what have you done for me lately” league, and Watson hasn’t played at an elite level since his last full season in 2020. For the most part, he’s been out of sight, out of mind."

- Mary Kay Cabot, Cleveland.com

MKC is correct that the NFL isn't going to give you respect for what happened three seasons ago. She also added that he didn't look like the Pro Bowler we saw in 2020 during his six games in Cleveland last year.

Watson led the Browns to a record of 3-3 while completing just 58.2 percent of his attempts. Of course, he was knocking the rust off for much of those games after not playing meaningful football for 700 days.

As if that wasn't enough of a challenge, Watson admitted that he was not only learning a new playbook but one that was designed around Jacoby Brissett rather than him. He now believes that with a full offseason, he and Kevin Stefanski are about to get this offense "rolling."

There's really no reason to believe otherwise. Sure, there are critics that say Watson is washed and will never prove to be worth the price paid but that's not likely the case. When he was still in Houston and facing an unknown suspension, 13 different teams were interested in adding him.

Watson was able to choose his destination due to a no-trade clause but if 41 percent of the teams in the NFL believed he was worth investing tons of draft capital in, that's most likely the case. Even if we haven't seen it since 2020.