The Watson Thread - Part Deux

[MillionDollarCam]

What exactly can Cleveland offer that would be attractive to Houston?

Pick 13 is obviously not as valuable as pick 6 and the thought is that if Watson goes to Cleveland that they will become a contender thus negating the value of any future first round pick.

Not to mention, they’d have to include Mayfield and there’s no shot Houston would want him. If they aren’t offering Denzel Ward or Greedy Williams in any deal along with multiple picks and prospects then Cleveland isn’t taking that deal. They’ll want even more from Cleveland since they are in the AFC.

[MHS831]

I have other stuff to do...But I have been drawn back to my computer every 15 minutes or so for the past day or two.  I am going to feel really empty and stupid if he signs with the Browns--and I might even call them the front runner right now due to the fact that Watson wants to talk with them.  Maybe Houston won't take Baker--and that end falls apart.

[t96]

6 minutes ago, TheRumGone said:

Cleveland has been the worry for a small group of people here. People can laugh all they want about the location but they have a good coach, good oline and good defense.

Gonna be a tough sell for the Texans to trade him in the AFC though

[Shocker]

Cleveland has a better supporting cast but I am actually feeling better about this atp.  Mainly, getting Watson and Armstead would be savage moves on dem Saints

[travisura]

Man I'm gonna feel the secondhand cuck so hard if he goes to Cleveland.

[HPPantherzfan]

Does Cleveland have the cap room to make a deal like this?

[SgtJoo]

1 minute ago, HPPantherzfan said:

Does Cleveland have the cap room to make a deal like this?

12.7 mil free rn but I'm sure they could finesse it

[TheRumGone]

1 minute ago, t96 said:

Gonna be a tough sell for the Texans to trade him in the AFC though

For sure. But he could literally just waive his ntc to the browns. That would force Texans to either sit him another year or give in. Texans have to want this to be over asap.

[MHS831]

3 minutes ago, HPPantherzfan said:

Does Cleveland have the cap room to make a deal like this?

OTC has them at $11m in cap room

[Panthercougar68]

181 pages to go.

[t96]

Just now, TheRumGone said:

For sure. But he could literally just waive his ntc to the browns. That would force Texans to either sit him another year or give in. Texans have to want this to be over asap.

Both sides want it to be over ASAP, it hurts Watson a lot too to sit another year so if the Texans threaten that Watson will have to give at least a little bit. Both sides will likely have to give a little bit.

[NCTHFL0567]

3 minutes ago, t96 said:

Gonna be a tough sell for the Texans to trade him in the AFC though

Tough sell for that, and the fact Cleveland would give guys like Kareem Hunt and some other average rookie over Burns and Chinn. Woof. Yeesh. You better LOVE some Baker if you're the Texans. 

[weyco2000]

3 minutes ago, TheRumGone said:

Herbert too. I mean obviously the nfc could change with good qbs coming in but I dunno. That’s something he definitely should be thinking about.

Herbert is in the AFC West, but yeah overall better Conference, except the Rams of course.

[Mage]

1 hour ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Forget the off-field stuff. Forget the will we or won't we stuff.

Real talk... is Watson actually good enough to warrant the type of trade bounty that we're talking about? He's had one great year when his team went 4-12. When the Texans we're actually competitive he was basically being used on a high level game manager type of role. We've never seen Watson in a situation where he's being asked to play like an MVP level QB on a competitive team, yet we're falling all over ourselves to gut the franchise to get him.

Is this actually a smart bet from a pure football perspective?

I'm not trying to argue that Watson isn't good. He's damn good. But is he top 5 NFL QB good? Nothing I've seen from him makes me confident in saying that. Not with guys like Brady, Rodgers, Mahomes, Allen, Herbert, Burrow, Wilson, etc., etc. out there. I think you're gutting the franchise for likely the 7th or 8th best QB in the league. Yikes.

Weird you list Herbert when Herbert's best season is 9-8 record.

Watson has a higher TD% and Y/A than him.  Better QB rating. Better CMP%.  Only a slightly better winning %, but he also has 2 10+ win seasons.  Better Y/C.  A much higher AY/A.  As a matter of fact, Watson's numbers are better across the board.

I think it is a lot of recency bias to suggest Watson isn't top 5 NFL QB good.  He was absolutely considered the second best young QB behind Mahomes before everything happened.  

I've got no issue if you prefer Herbert or Burrow though.  Those guys are legit.  But Watson is absolutely at the same level.  He's insanely accurate and can make just about any throw.  The biggest flaw with Watson is IMO he creates a lot of pressure for himself the same way Russell Wilson did.