Few people have started the season worse than Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson.
The Browns’ signal-caller is ranked last in the NFL’s QBR rating with a 21.0 score, the worst rating in the NFL through five weeks.
Watson has posted two games with single-digit QBR ratings, and the athlete has just 852 passing yards and five touchdowns in his team’s first five contests.
Analyst Greg Cosell believes that Watson isn’t seeing the field particularly well in the Browns’ new-look offense.
On the “Inside The Birds” podcast this week, Cosell used a play from last Sunday against the Washington Commanders to suggest how poorly Watson is reading the offensive plays he’s running.
“Jerry Jeudy is wide open,” Cosell said of the play he’s breaking down.
“This would be wide open by any standard,” he noted, adding, “This is what I meant by leaving throws on the field. This is the NFL. This throw has to be made.”
"This is the NFL. That throw has to be made."
On "Inside The Tape," @gregcosell joins @caplannfl + @GeoffPMosher to go inside #Browns QB Deshaun Watson's struggles + "green dogs" that could pose problems for #Eagles.
YT show: https://t.co/QekxHLqGrA
Pod: https://t.co/lBmGWjmzvd pic.twitter.com/ugMqyvdS54— Inside The Birds (@InsideBirds) October 10, 2024
Cosell added that his conclusion was “not personal” nor was it an “isolated example.”
The analyst added that the passing pocket Watson has on the play is “totally clean,” adding that it’s impossible to know what’s going on inside the quarterback’s mind as to his erratic movements and poor decision-making.
“It’s very possible he just anticipates getting pressure, and he moves when he doesn’t need to,” Cosell said of Watson.
Cosell noted that the Browns have lined up in “11” personnel – one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers – “more than 75 percent” of the time this season, a stat he said ranks as one of the highest usage rates in the NFL.
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