DeshaunWatson

News: 2 days agoWatson completed 16 of 30 passes for 144 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions while rushing 11 times for 45 yards in the Browns' 21-18 win over the Panthers on Sunday. He also threw a two-point conversion pass.

Spin: While Watson was anything but efficient through the air for the majority of the afternoon, the veteran signal-caller avoided turnovers and fired a pair of key touchdown passes to Harold Fannin, including a game-winning scoring toss with 1:48 remaining on which Watson scrambled to buy himself time before releasing the ball on the run. Watson's mobility played a key part throughout earlier portions of the game, as he was second on Cleveland in rushing yards with his highest total since Week 9 of the 2020 season while he was still with the Texans (he'd also rushed for 45 yards in Week 1 of the 2023 season). Watson is still clearly a work in progress in head coach Todd Monken's offense, but he appears to have an increasingly firm hold on the starting job heading into Thursday night's Week 4 divisional home clash against the Steelers.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Watson will return to the field this season after a disastrous four years in Cleveland. A top-six fantasy QB (points per game) during each of his first four NFL seasons, Watson has appeared in a total of 19 games since joining the Browns, averaging a poor 13.1 fantasy points during the span. A torn Achilles suffered in Week 7 of 2024 (followed by tearing it again less than three months later) cost Watson all of 2025. Now 30 years old, with a young, unproven supporting cast and having not been a factor since 2020, Watson will open the season as Cleveland's starter, but he's a long shot to return to fantasy relevance. He should be considered only in superflex formats.