Amazing off-season to be following the Texans and Broncos. Never did I expect the Broncos to paint themselves into a corner where they *needed* to draft a left tackle in the first round because they flat out had no other choice than to draft one. As fans screamed for this impact player or that one, the sensible ones knew all along Denver's first pick could not be anything else but a left tackle, no matter how much the Broncos tried to hide it. Left tackles don't exactly come out of the college box as plug-and-play, particularly with all the spread offenses in college, but the failure to address the issue for the first four months guaranteed today's pick.
In a very similar sense, the Texans painted themselves into a corner where they *needed* to draft a quarterback in the first two rounds. I felt Watson was the best choice of the bunch so I'm not unhappy they wound up with the National Champ QB and Heisman runner-up. When you looked at the other 5-6 top QBs in this draft, the one thing that Watson had over the rest of them is he's a proven winner. That means a lot in the fourth quarter when you have to suck it up and produce a W or just feel satisfied with some nice stats.
Dumping Osweiler and trading up for Watson means the Texans gave up a ton to make this happen and the pressure will be heavy on Watson to catch on quickly. Just like Bolles, it is a stretch to make a rookie into a top player in such a critical position but the Texans left themselves no other possible way.
I think Watson will sit half the season and be brought in for the second half if Savage is either too hurt or unproductive. As for the 17 interceptions, fear not. Scouts say he was lethargic the first half of the season, possibly hiding an injury or possibly wearing down from the short off-season but Watson turned it on the second half and cut down the turnovers. He's proven to be able to elevate his game in the clutch and that's just what Houston has needed. In this case, they left themselves no other choice.
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