Opinion: 3 reasons Deshaun Watson isn’t Jameis Winston

Deshaun Watson was the best quarterback in the 2017 NFL Draft. But here are three reasons not to compare him to Jameis Winston.

Deshaun Watson is a hell of a football player. He’s a winner on and off the field, and the biggest reason Clemson ascended to elite status the last two years in college football.

Clemson likely loses to FSU the last two years without Deshaun Watson leading their offense. They definitely lose against NC State this past season without him, and probably a couple more games over the past two seasons.

Watson was everything you would want in a college quarterback, but he’s no Jameis Winston.

Recently, Stanford head coach David Shaw compared Watson to Winston when it came to how his NFL team would receive him. Here’s the excerpt from NFL.com:

"“I’d probably put Jameis ahead of him slightly on offense. Jameis was more in the pocket, but this kid has an X-factor Jameis had too, which is, like it or not, his personality wins over a locker room,” Shaw recently told Sports Illustrated. “They love that guy. And Deshaun is going to do the same thing. His Day 1 in that locker room, guys are gonna say, ‘Oh there’s our quarterback. Coach, you tell me he’s not going to start but I’m following him already.’ That’s the kind of person he is.”"

Not the same

There are lots of similarities between the two quarterbacks. Both led their ACC teams to National Championships over SEC foes, and both are black quarterbacks taken in the first round of the NFL Draft.

The two quarterbacks both have competitive spirits that burn bright, willing their teams to victory on occasions when the outcome looked in doubt.

Both players are incredibly smart, but that’s about where the similarities end.

David Shaw goes on to talk about attending a Clemson spring practice a few years ago, and spoke about how Watson took reps seriously even though he was injured and on the sidelines.

I don’t doubt that for a second. However, when it comes to how Deshaun Watson will be received in the NFL, there are a few factors one must consider when comparing him to Jameis Winston.

Let’s go.