Deshaun Watson, 2016
Photo: Atlanta Falcons, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Quarterback, Clemson, 2014–⁠16

Deshaun Watson

Number
No. 4
Height
6′3″
Hometown
Gainesville, GA
Born
Sep 14, 1995, in Gainesville, Georgia

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Deshaun Watson played quarterback at Clemson (2014–⁠16). He was the quarterback of the 2016 national champions (14–⁠1). He won the 2015 and 2016 Davey O’Brien Awards, the 2015 and 2016 Manning Awards and the 2016 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He finished second in the 2016 Heisman vote and was a consensus All‑American in 2015. The Houston Texans took Watson in the first round, No. 12 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
4,593
Passing yards, 2016 (Clemson, 14–⁠1)
Best game
580 yards
Vs. Pittsburgh, week 11, 2016: No. 1 passing game in FBS that week
National rank
No. 3
In FBS in passing touchdowns, 2016
Drafted
No. 12
Overall, 2017 NFL Draft (Houston Texans)

Career highs

580passing yards, career highvs. Pittsburgh, 20166touchdown passes, career hightwice; last vs. South Carolina, 2016145rushing yards, career highvs. Oklahoma, 20153rushing touchdowns, career highat South Carolina, 2015

Honors

Team titles: ACC champions, 2015 and 2016; National champions, 2016

Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.

Passing

Passing yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamCmpAttPctYdsY/ATDInt
2014Clemson9313767.91,46610.7142
2015Clemson33349167.84,1048.43513
2016Clemson38757867.04,5937.94117
Career8131,20667.410,1638.49032

Rushing

SeasonTeamCarYdsAvgTDLong
2014Clemson632003.2517
2015Clemson2071,1055.31263
2016Clemson1656293.8933
Career4351,9344.42663

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosHt
2014Clemson4QB
2015Clemson4QB
2016Clemson4QB6′3″

As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.

Per play

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsageAdj. passAdj. rush
2014Clemson2000.5899th (n=147)0.24115.733%0.690.32
2015Clemson6950.4292nd (n=151)0.24291.756%0.580.34
2016Clemson7350.3270th (n=152)0.25234.660%0.550.12

Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). Adjusted pass and rush: EPA per play adjusted for the defenses faced (CollegeFootballData’s WEPA). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.

Game by game

2016 Clemson 15 games, 4,593 passing yards, 41 TD
DateOpponentResultCmpAttYdsTDIntRush
Sep 3atAuburnW 19–⁠1319342481121
Sep 10vs.TroyW 30–⁠2427532923255
Sep 17vs.South Carolina StateW 59–⁠01215152308
Sep 22atGeorgia TechW 26–⁠732483042136
Oct 1vs.LouisvilleW 42–⁠3620313065391
Oct 7atBoston CollegeW 56–⁠1015252704033
Oct 15vs.NC StateW 24–⁠1739523782135
Oct 29atFlorida StateW 37–⁠3427433782252
Nov 5vs.SyracuseW 54–⁠013161692039
Nov 12vs.PittsburghL 42–⁠435270580338
Nov 19atWake ForestW 35–⁠1323332021047
Nov 26vs.South CarolinaW 56–⁠726323476119
Dec 3vs.Virginia TechW 42–⁠3523342883185
Dec 31 ✦vs.Ohio StateW 31–⁠023362591257
Jan 9 ✦vs.AlabamaW 35–⁠3136564203043
2015 Clemson 15 games, 4,104 passing yards, 35 TD
DateOpponentResultCmpAttYdsTDIntRush
Sep 5vs.WoffordW 49–⁠1018221942022
Sep 12vs.App StateW 41–⁠1019262483117
Sep 17atLouisvilleW 20–⁠1721301992254
Oct 3vs.Notre DameW 24–⁠221021842193
Oct 10vs.Georgia TechW 43–⁠2421302652116
Oct 17vs.Boston CollegeW 34–⁠1727414203232
Oct 24atMiamiW 58–⁠015191431098
Oct 31atNC StateW 56–⁠4123303835054
Nov 7vs.Florida StateW 23–⁠13284229710107
Nov 14atSyracuseW 37–⁠27354836821105
Nov 21vs.Wake ForestW 33–⁠1324353433244
Nov 28atSouth CarolinaW 37–⁠32202727910114
Dec 5vs.North CarolinaW 45–⁠37264228931131
Dec 31 ✦vs.OklahomaW 37–⁠17163118711145
Jan 11 ✦vs.AlabamaL 40–⁠4530474054173
2014 Clemson 8 games, 1,466 passing yards, 14 TD
DateOpponentResultCmpAttYdsTDIntRush
Aug 30atGeorgiaL 21–⁠45245910−3
Sep 6vs.South Carolina StateW 73–⁠7891543020
Sep 20atFlorida StateL 17–⁠2319282660030
Sep 27vs.North CarolinaW 50–⁠3527364356128
Oct 4vs.NC StateW 41–⁠017292672062
Oct 11vs.LouisvilleW 23–⁠1726−50110
Nov 15atGeorgia TechL 6–⁠2846210040
Nov 29vs.South CarolinaW 35–⁠1714192692013

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

DrillCombine 2017
Height6′2½″
Weight221 lb
Arm length33″
Hand size9¾″
Wingspan79⅞″W
40-yard dash4.66 s
10-yard split1.53 sW
Vertical jump32½″
Broad jump9′11″
3-cone drill6.95 s
20-yard shuttle4.31 s

Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

8 seasons, 78 games with a stat; latest team: Cleveland Browns.

Pro Bowls: 3 (2018–⁠20)

SeasonTeamGCmpAttYdsTDIntRush
2017Houston Texans71262041,699198269
2018Houston Texans163455054,165269551
2019Houston Texans153334953,8522612413
2020Houston Texans163825444,823337444
2022Cleveland Browns6991701,10275175
2023Cleveland Browns61051711,11574142
2024Cleveland Browns71372161,14853148
2026 (so far)Cleveland Browns5951481,01072167
NFL career781,6222,45318,914130502,309

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat. Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams by NFL season: rosters and honors, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

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