Jayden Daniels is HIM. On Sunday, he squares off against a quarterback who not all that long ago was HIM.
Only seven years back, Deshaun Watson was having the same kind of impact on the NFL that Daniels is currently having.
Watson, taken two picks after Patrick Mahomes in 2017, started in Week 2. Despite going 3-3, he was taking the league by storm. He was regarded as the no-brainer offensive rookie of the year. He was generating MVP buzz.
By his third start, Watson accounted for five touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) in a 57-14 thrashing of the Titans. The next week, he threw for five touchdown passes in a 42-34 loss to the Chiefs. After a four-touchdown day in a 41-38 loss to Seattle, cornerback Richard Sherman told Watson he played better against the Seahawks defense than any quarterback Sherman had seen — Tom Brady included.
Only days later, Watson suffered a non-contact ACL tear. (After the 2017 season, Watson later told PFT Live at the Super Bowl that he believes the injury happened during the Seattle game.)
Now, Daniels is the new kid on the block. The fresh face who is doing big things. With three combined rushing and passing touchdowns on Sunday against the Browns, he’ll match Watson (and Justin Herbert) for the all-time record number of total touchdowns in a quarterback’s first five NFL games, at 14.
It will be a strange thing for Watson to watch. He last played at a high level in 2020. After sitting out 2021 with pay while the Texans tried to trade him (and while facing more than 20 lawsuits) and missing 11 games in 2022 (due to the lawsuits) and 11 in 2023 (due to injury), Watson is a shell of what he used to be.
For the first time in his career, Watson has gone four straight games without throwing for 200 or more yards.
“I don’t care about the stats,” Watson told reporters this week. “I just want to win. So, none of that stuff matters.”
But the Browns also aren’t winning. They’re 1-3. The Commanders, under Daniels, are 3-1.
And the Browns continue to be handcuffed by the worst trade-and-sign of the salary cap era. They couldn’t bring back Joe Flacco in 2024, because the fans would have revolted by now if Watson hadn’t been benched for him. And if they decide to give Jameis Winston a shot, what will the quarterback who is owed another $92 million — fully guaranteed — in 2025 and 2026 think?
On Sunday, one quarterback whose star is rising will take on a quarterback whose star has fallen (and it can’t get up). With each passing week that Watson doesn’t rewind the clock to 2020, the situation becomes more glaring. And, on Sunday, when Watson and every other Browns fan watches an opposing quarterback who is what Watson once was, it will only create a greater sense of regret over the $230 million, the three first-round picks, and the three other draft selections that were given up to get Watson.
