Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson - Legit alternative to Jared Goff in 2017?

Getting a good laugh at all y'all freaking out over Watson's arm strength.

The scariest pass in our division is probably a Russell Wilson slow lob.

Originally posted by All22:
Getting a good laugh at all y'all freaking out over Watson's arm strength.

The scariest pass in our division is probably a Russell Wilson slow lob.

Two greatest QB's to ever wear a 49er jersey weren't known for their fastballs either. Ironically the 49er with possibly the biggest arm ever is still unemployed.

Originally posted by All22:
Getting a good laugh at all y'all freaking out over Watson's arm strength.

The scariest pass in our division is probably a Russell Wilson slow lob.

Wilson - 55 mph.

Originally posted by jcs:

Originally posted by Lobo49er:
.

They take a radar gun and aim it at the ball.

Explain the exercise in steps if you truly understand it? Seriously.

Watch this video. Look for the guy dressed like an NFL official. Hint: He's not an NFL official. Continue to watch the fake NFL official.



If you still have questions about how man-kind has acquired the ability to measure speed, try here.

Originally posted by Lobo49er:
Watch this video. Look for the guy dressed like an NFL official. Hint: He's not an NFL official. Continue to watch the fake NFL official.



If you still have questions about how man-kind has acquired the ability to measure speed, try here.

So you think this is how it's actually conducted?

Originally posted by jcs:
So you think this is how it's actually conducted?

You think we're measuring it by sundial?

Originally posted by Lobo49er:

Originally posted by jcs:
So you think this is how it's actually conducted?

You think we're measuring it by sundial?

I'm just seeing if you actually understand this number you are posting.

Velocity tests are actually never explained to the public and most scouts refuse to post these numbers as if they are official times. By the way these are controlled passes they are analyzing during their throwing sessions at the combine.

This said most if not all professional scouts praised Watson for his combine drills and many said he was clearly the best qb in the throwing sessions this year. The only people obsessed with his "Velocity" number are the young no name scouts who love to get abused with rumors, the twitter guys that jump on anything.

The Velocity results are also imperfect and shouldn't be taken seriously until it is actually conducted as an actual test.

Also do realize you are in a 49er forum with guys in our recent past like Montana, Young, Garcia and Smith. All guys we've seen succeed here at different times in their careers and non of them were known for their velocity and couldn't touch Keapernick and his fastball but all of them were better QB's.

Originally posted by jcs:
I'm just seeing if you actually understand this number you are posting.

I have a pretty firm grasp on what "miles per hour" means.

Velocity tests are actually never explained to the public and most scouts refuse to post these numbers as if they are official times. By the way these are controlled passes they are analyzing during their throwing sessions at the combine.

Ideal conditions, gotcha.

This said most if not all professional scouts praised Watson for his combine drills and many said he was clearly the best qb in the throwing sessions this year.

If by "most if not all scouts", you mean "some scouts", then I agree.

The only people obsessed with his "Velocity" number are the young no name scouts who love to get abused with rumors, the twitter guys that jump on anything.

You don't know if Shanny cares about Watson's noodle arm or not. You don't know what Shanny factors in. Shanny might pick Watson, he might not. He might care about his velocity. He might not. You certainly don't know what he cares about.

The Velocity results are also imperfect and shouldn't be taken seriously until it is actually conducted as an actual test.

And yet, when Mahomes is asked to repeat the test, he gets pretty much the same number, odd.

Also do realize you are in a 49er forum with guys in our recent past like Montana, Young, Garcia and Smith. All guys we've seen succeed here at different times in their careers and non of them were known for their velocity and couldn't touch Keapernick and his fastball but all of them were better QB's.

Throwing fast balls doesn't mean you're going to be good. Throwing slow-pitch soft balls is a good sign of failing in today's NFL.

Marcus Mosher
✔@Marcus_Mosher

According to Sports Science, Deshaun Watson has the fastest release (.35) in the class. Equivalent to Aaron Rodgers.

9:03 AM - 15 Apr 2017

5555 Retweets
9797 likes

Originally posted by TheBlueHell:
Oh hey....from Pro Football Focus last summer:

Let's look at why Watson should have an excellent 2016 campaign:

1. He excels on downfield throws

Watson's late-season exploits included a number of long touchdown throws, with the QB consistently making big plays in the clutch. Overall, Watson was accurate on 47.5 percent of his deep targets, throwing for 1,196 yards and 18 touchdowns on passes of 20-plus yards. Only Bowling Green's Matt Johnson found paydirt on more occasions in 2015. Watson was a little aggressive on occasion, throwing seven picks on deep targets, but he made many more positive plays than mistakes, especially late in the year.

Watson's arm talent is very impressive (more on that below), but he isn't just a fastball thrower, as he shows impressive touch down the field. Clemson's postseason run started in the ACC Championship game, with Watson leading the team over North Carolina in a shootout. The play below illustrates the type of plays he can make down the field. The location on this deep sideline throw is perfect.



Watson flashed his downfield touch consistently over the final few games. He doesn't try to throw the ball too hard, instead putting enough air under it to allow his receiver to get into position. He can also throw with touch to the intermediate level, particularly in the red zone, and at all levels he shows the ability to take heat off the ball when required.

4. He has the arm strength to fit throws into tight windows

As much as Watson relies on his ability to put touch on the football, his complete skill set makes him a dominant quarterback. He can avoid the risk involved in tight windows with the kind of heat most quarterbacks are unable to achieve, and it allows him to throw late against zone coverage on occasion.

This play is the type of play that doesn't work in Shanahan's offense. The play design is pretty much a one read play and his only option on that play was that WR. The 2 other WRs are not even a factor based on the play design. Reminds me of Kaepernick and how the offense needs to be specifically designed for him.

Originally posted by dwy621:

Originally posted by TheBlueHell:
Oh hey....from Pro Football Focus last summer:

Let's look at why Watson should have an excellent 2016 campaign:

1. He excels on downfield throws

Watson's late-season exploits included a number of long touchdown throws, with the QB consistently making big plays in the clutch. Overall, Watson was accurate on 47.5 percent of his deep targets, throwing for 1,196 yards and 18 touchdowns on passes of 20-plus yards. Only Bowling Green's Matt Johnson found paydirt on more occasions in 2015. Watson was a little aggressive on occasion, throwing seven picks on deep targets, but he made many more positive plays than mistakes, especially late in the year.

Watson's arm talent is very impressive (more on that below), but he isn't just a fastball thrower, as he shows impressive touch down the field. Clemson's postseason run started in the ACC Championship game, with Watson leading the team over North Carolina in a shootout. The play below illustrates the type of plays he can make down the field. The location on this deep sideline throw is perfect.



Watson flashed his downfield touch consistently over the final few games. He doesn't try to throw the ball too hard, instead putting enough air under it to allow his receiver to get into position. He can also throw with touch to the intermediate level, particularly in the red zone, and at all levels he shows the ability to take heat off the ball when required.

4. He has the arm strength to fit throws into tight windows

As much as Watson relies on his ability to put touch on the football, his complete skill set makes him a dominant quarterback. He can avoid the risk involved in tight windows with the kind of heat most quarterbacks are unable to achieve, and it allows him to throw late against zone coverage on occasion.

This play is the type of play that doesn't work in Shanahan's offense. The play design is pretty much a one read play and his only option on that play was that WR. The 2 other WRs are not even a factor based on the play design. Reminds me of Kaepernick and how the offense needs to be specifically designed for him.

This play is more a knock on Dabo than Watson.

This play is a better analysis of his ability





Timing, accuracy, arm strength and ball placement in a high pressure situation.

For those questioning his progression skills

For some reason I suspect the above link will be ignored by the Bill Walshes in this thread.

Best interview ever at combine

30 year NFL scout says DW4 has great velocity

Oh wait...Another pro laughing at scientific experts like Lobo:

The Bears' former director of college scouting, Greg Gabriel has over 30 years of experience in NFL scouting and he'll be breaking down the top NFL prospects to watch this college season and other NFL news each week here at Pro Football Weekly. You can follow Greg on Twitter @greggabe

On recent days there has been a lot of chatter on Twitter about the throwing velocity of the quarterbacks at the annual Scouting Combine. What velocity measures is how fast the ball is moving once thrown. In other words, miles per hour.

Some of the results from the Combine were as follows: Patrick Mahomes: 60 mph, Davis Webb: 59 mph, DeShone Kizer: 56 mph, Mitch Trubisky and Jerod Evans: 55 mph, Nate Peterman and Brad Kaaya: 53 mph and Deshaun Watson: 49 mph. The main Twitter concern was that Watson does not have an NFL arm. Nonsense!

After these results were tweeted out, there were a number of other tweets saying things such as, "The minimal number a QB can have is 55" or, "Anyone with less than 55 will struggle to play in the NFL," etc.


I found these tweets amusing, as the people who were posting these things don't have any idea of what they are talking about. Why? The "velocity" stat has only been used for a few years and there is not nearly enough evidence to tell us a thing other than the miles per hour a quarterback's throw is traveling. Ten years from now there may be some evidence, but today there is nothing. In fact when I asked some GMs and coaches around the league that I know about the stat they all agreed it was meaningless at this time as far as predicting anything. Again, not enough data.

Most if not all of the top quarterbacks in the league never had their velocity measured at the Combine. I guarantee you that some of the greatest of all-time would have "flunked' the velocity test. Coming out of college Peyton Manning had a good, but not a great arm. Tom Brady actually had a bit less than a good arm and Drew Brees' arm strength coming out was below average at best.

How did we know this? We watched practice live and a lot of game tape. I was at a Purdue practice during Brees' final year and he struggled to complete a 12-yard out in windy conditions. I was at Peyton Manning's Pro Day and in a scripted workout he showed far less than a cannon. One of the knocks on Brady coming out was he couldn't "drive" the ball.

After each of these quarterbacks spent some time in the National Football League, their arm strength improved. In fact, not only did it improve, but it improved dramatically.

In many college programs, the quarterback is not forced to do much in the weight room. Once they get to the NFL, things change. If you want to keep your job and be able to compete, you have to do everything you can to improve. There are numerous exercises quarterbacks can do to improve their arm strength. These players look to improve grip strength, forearm strength and triceps strength. Improving those areas will improve the zip a quarterback has on the ball.

Yes, coaches and evaluators want a quarterback to have a strong arm, but they also want the player to throw a tight ball. In fact many believe "spin" is more important than outright arm strength. A strong-armed quarterback who doesn't throw a tight ball will struggle in the wind. Likewise, a quarterback with an average arm can have success in the wind or cold if he can spin the ball properly.

Getting back to Deshaun Watson. Anyone who doesn't think his arm is strong enough to play in the NFL doesn't know how to evaluate. He has no trouble making every required NFL throw. He has proven this over and over again on tape. While he may not have the quickest release, he can make all the throws and can easily throw the ball 55 yards downfield with a tight spiral.

Next time you see such nonsense, just throw it away. It is, at best, a very inexact stat that people in the NFL aren't putting a whole lot of stock in. It just so happens that those are the people that matter when it comes to evaluations.