The evaluations teams make as they assess whether Deshaun Watson can make a smooth transition to a pro-style offense, and whether he can be accurate with consistency from an NFL pocket, are two questions that will affect his stock for the 2017 NFL Draft.
But one question he won't have to answer is whether he brings his A-game to the big games. And an AFC college scouting director, in that respect, likens him to two of the league's top young QBs.
"Watson's confidence and competitiveness reminds me a lot of Jameis Winston and Dak Prescott. He loves the bright lights and a big stage. He plays better when things are on the line. At the end of the day, that stuff matters," the director told NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks. "... We all want to win and the franchise quarterback needs to believe that he can get it done. Watson believes he is that guy."
NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock had similar praise for Watson, albeit without comparisons to anyone else, on The College Draft podcast Wednesday:
"He was 28-2 the last two years, he played in two national championship games against Alabama with seven touchdowns and one interception," Mayock said. "I thought he embraced the spotlight, which is a big deal. You want that. You want a guy to embrace it. I think he did everything he could do on the college level to put himself on the best foot going forward."
Winston certainly gave NFL scouts a glimpse of his big-game poise as a two-year starter at Florida State. He won two ACC title games and one national title game in two seasons as a starter for the Seminoles. Prescott didn't play for that kind of hardware at Mississippi State, but showed all the big-game mettle anyone could ask for as a rookie starter for the Cowboys in 2016.
Watson won two ACC titles and a national title (like Winston) at Clemson. And after he shredded the Crimson Tide for the second year in a row with the College Football Playoff crown at stake, he's provided all the evidence anyone needs that there isn't a stage too big for him.
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