Hue Jackson is not here for your Deshaun Watson ‘what if’ questions
By Jack Crosby
Hue Jackson, understandably, has no interest whatsoever in pondering what would have happened if the Browns drafted Deshaun Watson.
It’s another NFL season here in 2017, and once again, it’s another year in which the Cleveland Browns are having some serious issues figuring out their quarterback situation. Just this week it was announced that the team is benching rookie DeShone Kizer in favor of former Stanford star signal-caller Kevin Hogan.
The timing of this is interesting only because of who the opponent is for the Browns this weekend. Sunday, they’ll be taking on the Houston Texans, who don’t have any issue with their rookie starting quarterback, Deshaun Watson. Watson, who the Browns passed on twice in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, has played phenomenally to start his career as looks every bit the franchise quarterback many thought he’d be.
You have to wonder whether or not Browns head coach Hue Jackson expresses any sort of regret here months later in regards to passing on Watson in favor of waiting on Kizer later in the draft. He very well may, but as we learned on Wednesday when he was pegged with the question, he has no interest in discussing the matter.
“I totally get it,” Jackson said via Pro Football Talk. “What did I tell you guys earlier in the week? You guys can say whatever you like. I get it. I get the second-guessing, the questions and all of that. You are entitled to do all of that. DeShone Kizer is on our team. Deshaun Watson is on their team. We can’t all of a sudden flip them, so why are we having this discussion?”
Of course, Jackson isn’t going to openly admit that he wishes he could build his own time machine to go back and draft Watson, but you know he and some of the Browns brass have to be thinking it at times. The rookie Watson has completed 62 percent of his passes for over 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns already with just four interceptions.
But hindsight is always 20/20, and who knows, maybe Kizer will one day develop into the franchise quarterback for the Browns after this season and beyond. For now, though, yes, the decision to pass on Watson doesn’t seem like it was the brightest move.