{"id":44908,"date":"2018-06-17T08:28:09","date_gmt":"2018-06-17T12:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=44908"},"modified":"2018-08-28T14:52:21","modified_gmt":"2018-08-28T18:52:21","slug":"2018-fantasy-spotlight-deshaun-watson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2018\/06\/17\/2018-fantasy-spotlight-deshaun-watson\/","title":{"rendered":"2018 Fantasy Spotlight: Deshaun Watson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deshaun Watson<\/a><\/strong> burst onto the scene like a house on fire in 2018. Watson brought an excitement to a Houston Texans offense that for so long was sleepwalking through seasons. Who can forget that unbelievable game<\/a> against the Seattle Seahawks last season? Watson and Russell Wilson<\/a><\/strong> trading blows like a heavyweight fight, it was an instant classic. Unfortunately, that was the last great moment of 2017 for Watson.<\/p>\n

Watson suffered a torn ACL while in practice on November 2nd. Normally this severe of an injury could temper expectations, however that is far from what is happening. At the time of this writing fantasypros.com<\/a> has Watson as the fourth quarterback off the board (only Aaron Rodgers<\/a><\/strong>, Wilson and Tom Brady<\/a><\/strong> are ahead) and an overall ADP of 43 in PPR leagues. The Fantasy<\/a> Spotlight takes a deep dive into what to expect, and perhaps not expect from Watson in 2018.<\/p>\n

2018 Fantasy Spotlight: Deshaun Watson<\/h1>\n

Rookie Season<\/h2>\n

So just how good was Watson\u2019s rookie season? His 25.0 fantasy points per game in the seven games he played were eighth best by any quarterback all-time. Keep in mind that he only played the second half during the season opener. His efficiency in 2017 was absolutely off the charts. According to playerprofiler.com<\/a> his 5.3 air yards per attempt were tops in the league, also number one amongst quarterbacks\u00a0were his +70.6-production premium, his 81.8 total QBR and his .67 fantasy points per drop-back.\u00a0These numbers were so good that they will be near impossible to repeat in 2018. In fact, his .67 FP per drop-back were 24.6 percent better than the next best quarterback.<\/p>\n

Watson\u2019s rookie season passer rating was second-best all time of any rookie with at least 200 passes. He showed impeccable ability to produce on the ground as well finishing behind only Cam Newton<\/a><\/strong> in rushing fantasy points per drop-back. Obviously coming off a torn ACL the Texans will tighten the reigns a bit with Watson\u2019s running making it tough for him to repeat those numbers of last season.<\/p>\n

Supporting Cast<\/h2>\n

Watson\u2019s play certainly helped increase the production of his talented wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins<\/strong><\/a> and Will Fuller<\/strong><\/a>. While Hopkins proved that he could be a standout no matter who was throwing the football (Tom Savage<\/a><\/strong>), Fuller really stepped\u00a0up his game\u00a0with Watson under center. During the seven games played with Watson, Fuller ranked second in fantasy points per game (21.0) behind, yes you guessed it, his teammate, the man they call \u201cNuke\u201d (21.1). Of course, Watson\u2019s passing efficiency aided the production of both Hopkins and Fuller. Watson averaged a touchdown pass on 9.31 percent of his attempts (a stat heard on a recent episode of the Pickin\u2019 Up the Blitz<\/a> fantasy podcast) which is second all-time of any quarterback with at least 200 pass attempts since the NFL merger. Like we said earlier, historic efficiency.<\/p>\n

The Second Act<\/h2>\n

As historic as Watson\u2019s seven-game rookie season was (exceeded projected fantasy stats in all seven games played), it will be near impossible to repeat. That doesn\u2019t mean Watson is going to have a bad second season, it just means he will come down a few pegs. A look at quarterback seasons of the past shows that\u00a0touchdown rate usually comes down from the previous season. Of course, the severity of his injury plays a factor in mobility. He will still be able to make plenty of plays with his legs and rack up fantasy points, but he will have to pick his spots a bit more. Also, it would help to get production from running backs Lamar Miller<\/a><\/strong> and D\u2019onta Foreman<\/strong><\/a>, neither produced a 100-yard rushing game in 2017. If the running back production can increase it will open the door for Watson to connect with his favorite targets Hopkins and Fuller more than enough to satisfy fantasy owners.<\/p>\n

Spotlight Says\u2026<\/h2>\n

Deshaun Watson\u2019s QB4 FantasyPros ranking is right on target and he could finish as a top-three quarterback in 2018. The Texans have the third easiest strength of schedule for fantasy quarterbacks and Hopkins\/Fuller present matchup nightmares for opposing defenses.<\/p>\n

Projected Stats:<\/strong>
\nPassing- 3622 Yards \/ 25 TD \/ 14 INT
\nRushing- 408 Yards \/ 3 TD<\/p>\n

Main photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>