CLE · QB

Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson is a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. Depth chart: QB1.

Scouting report

Deshaun Watson: the full picture

Written automatically from Gridiron Value model data · updated October 20, 2026

Deshaun Watson at a glance

Deshaun Watson is a 31-year-old quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, listed at 6'3" and 223 pounds. The Houston Texans drafted Watson 12th overall in the first round in 2017, out of Clemson, and 2026 is Watson's 10th NFL season.

2026 projection

The Gridiron Value season model projects Watson for 177.0 PPR points in 2026, which ranks QB31 at the position and works out to 11.0 points per game over 17.0 projected games.

2026 season so far

Through 6 games of 2026, Watson has scored 88.6 PPR points, or 14.8 per game. That is 50.0% of the full-season projection; at the current rate Watson would finish with about 251 points, ahead of the 177.0 projected. The best week so far is 20.3 points in Week 3 against CAR, the QB14 finish that week. Watson has cleared the 18-point mark we count as a usable QB start in 2 of 6 games, a 33% consistency rate.

Percentile profile

Measured against the 34 qualified quarterbacks of 2026, Watson ranks in the 93rd percentile in rush yards, the 72nd percentile in interception rate and the 49th percentile in yards per attempt. One of the 8 tracked categories sits at or above the 75th percentile. The softest mark is the 1st percentile in cpoe.

Career track record

By season-long PPR scoring, Watson has finished as QB4 in 2018, QB4 in 2019, QB5 in 2020, QB36 in 2022, QB36 in 2023 and QB40 in 2024. That is three top-five positional finishes in 7 completed seasons. The high-water mark is 369.3 PPR points in 2020. Across 79 regular-season games on record, the totals read 19,078 passing yards, 130 passing touchdowns, 2,338 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns.

Deshaun Watson by the numbers

Watson has been the highest-scoring quarterback of the week 9 times, finished in the weekly top five at the position 19 times and finished in the top twelve 42 times. The career high is 41.7 PPR points, set in Week 5 of 2019 against ATL, the top QB score of that week. The game log also shows 11 games of 30 or more PPR points, 20 300-yard passing games and 22 games with three or more touchdowns. In all, Watson has reached 20 points in 37 games, 47% of career appearances.

How the production happens

In 2026, Watson threw 4.8 deep passes per game (15 or more air yards) and completed 38% of them, against 24.8 short attempts per game at 69%. About 10.2 passes per game fell incomplete.

Contract

Watson is playing on a five-year, $230 million contract signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2022, an average of $46 million per year with $230 million guaranteed. The deal runs through the 2026 season.

2026 projected stat line

Projected PPR
177.0
PPR / game
11.0

Deshaun Watson fantasy outlook

Deshaun Watson enters the 2026 season with CLE and ranks QB31 and #88 overall in the current Gridiron Value projection. The model projects 177.0 PPR points across 16.1 games, or 11.0 points per game, placing the expected outcome in a lineup and depth tier. The preseason depth chart lists Deshaun Watson as QB1, so the opportunity forecast is tied to that current role rather than name value alone. In 2024, Deshaun Watson produced 76.7 PPR points in 7 games (11.0 per game), giving the projection a recent performance baseline. Projection confidence is 46%, with a 13% modeled chance of a Top-24 positional finish. The main variables are role stability, team scoring volume, and normal efficiency variance.

Week 3 projection

Deshaun Watson is projected for 13.4 PPR points at home against CAR in week 3, with a likely range of 0.0 to 35.7.

Trade value

Gridiron Value prices every player from 0 to 100 within each league format. Value is up 7.2 since the previous model run (rising).

Redraft
42.9
Dynasty
30.9
Superflex redraft
82.9
Superflex dynasty
72.2
TE premium dynasty
18.6

Compare Deshaun Watson on the trade value chart

Career stats

SeasonTeamGCmpAttPass ydsPass TDIntRush ydsRush TDPPR
2026CLE61111741,17472196088.6
2024CLE71372161,14853148176.7
2023CLE61051711,11574142186.8
2022CLE6991701,10275175185.6
2020HOU163825444,8233374443369.3
2019HOU153334953,85226124137321.0
2018HOU163455054,1652695515331.7
2017HOU71262041,6991982692168.9

Quarterbacks ranked near Deshaun Watson

Cleveland Browns fantasy players

Cleveland Browns depth chart and projections

Projections are model estimates, not recorded results. Snapshot 2026-10-20.