Much of the perception of the AFC North being one of the toughest divisions in football this year rests upon the reputation of its quarterbacks—primarily the quarterbacks outside of Pittsburgh. That’s a change from the past two decades.
While Steelers QB Kenny Pickett still has a lot to prove, Merril Hoge isn’t convinced that the Cleveland Browns will ever get what they believed they were paying for in acquiring former three-time Pro Bowl QB Deshaun Watson last year. They gave up three first-round picks, among other resources, for the former Houston Texan in addition to giving him a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million deal.
Pointing out that he has played very little football in two years, Hoge stressed not the lack of playing time in that span but the lack of development. “How many thousands of snaps did you miss that would have developed you and made you better?”, he posed to his host on The Zach Gelb Show.
“That is the bigger harm than just missing two years. What did you miss in those two years?”, he asked. “And sometimes you never catch up to that. He got a little better, but he was nothing like you saw in Houston. They’ve had an outstanding running game. Are they gonna deviate from that? I think that would be a mistake”.
After posting 12 consecutive losing seasons between 2008 and 2019, the Browns finally got over the hump in 2020, finishing 11-5. Not only did they make the playoffs, but they also beat the Steelers in the Wildcard Round that year.
While they’ve been back under .500 for the past two years, including a 7-10 record in 2022, it hasn’t been for a lack of effort on the part of RB Nick Chubb. Hoge believes he still needs to be the Browns’ focus offensively, and that they “actually could be pretty good” if they did that rather than to “ignore the guy who has kept you in the thick of things”.
The 12th-overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Watson put up some impressive numbers in Houston, going 1,186-for-1,746 passing for 14,539 yards and 104 touchdowns with 36 interceptions in 54 games played over a four-year period. He made the Pro Bowl in each year in which he was healthy for most of the season.
Though it can’t be ignored that they finished just 4-12 in his final season there as a starter in 2020, Watson did light up the stat sheet, leading the NFL with 4,823 yards passing and averaging 8.9 yards per attempt with a career-high 33 passing touchdowns.
He had just seven in six starts for the Browns at the end of last season, averaging by far a career-low 6.5 yards per attempt. His previous low was 7.8. Bearing that in mind, it’s fair to have the same questions as Hoge about whether Watson can ever regain his prior form at this point or if he’s simply lost too much time.
Or perhaps even if he was ever as good as his numbers in the first place. He can provide his answers on the field starting next month.
