Russell Wilson rookie year and Deshaun Watson’s show big differences

Deshaun Watson comes into today’s game with the Seahawks with a lot of hype. Let’s compare his season to a guy who was a pretty good rookie, Russell Wilson.

Russell Wilson didn’t come into the NFL with nearly the acclaim as did Watson, perhaps rightly so. Deshaun Watson won a national title at Clemson, led all of college football in total yards one year, and is the all time career leader in pass completion percentage for the ACC. Wilson’s college career is remembered mainly for transferring from NC State to Wisconsin.

To be fair, WIlson’s college stats compare favorably to Watson’s, once you toss out the national title. And titles are won by teams, not individuals. Wilson led the NCAA in in both passing efficiency and yards per play his senior year. If he was three inches taller, Wilson would have been drafted in the first round too. He wouldn’t have been drafted ahead of Andrew Luck or RGII, no. But Ryan Tannehill? Brandon Weeden, for the love of all that is holy? All first round picks. How do those picks taste now, GMs? Let’s just say Wilson showed ample promise in college, and let it go at that.

Watson looks pretty good so far, at least on the surface

Back to today. Deshaun Watson is 3-2 as a starter. He’s thrown for just under 1300 yards in five and a half games. Remember, he started the second half of the season opener versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. In reality he’s averaging 236 yards per game. He’s thrown 15 touchdowns versus just 5 interceptions. That 3-1 ratio is pretty easy to see, even for those who hated math.

He’s also run for just over 200 yards and two touchdowns, netting over seven yards per carry. That would equate to nearly 600 yards rushing over sixteen games, with six rushing touchdowns. He’s on pace for over 3700 yards passing with 44 touchdowns and just 15 interceptions. That’s a heck of a rookie year.