2026
2026 season · QB · #4 · 10th season
Deshaun Watson
Age 31 · 6'3" · 221 lb · Clemson · Pick 12 overall (2017). Listed QB1 on the 3WR 1TE depth chart. Snap share 99% across 8 games.
- How goodWatson's -2.1 EPA is 23rd of 38 quarterbacks.
- Where it comes fromThe biggest share comes after the catch (+121.5, 59th percentile per dropback).
- Fantasy14.7 standard points a game, QB20 of 34.14.7 half-PPR points a game, QB20 of 34.14.7 PPR points a game, QB20 of 34.
- How he's usedA shotgun offense: 89% of his dropbacks come from the gun (league 79%).
- LatelyDropbacks are steady: 38.3 a game over his last three against 35.3 for the season.
- This weekA soft matchup: the Saints rank 23rd vs the pass, allowing +0.09 EPA per dropback.
How good is hehis line against the league at his position
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPA per dropback | -0.02 | 24th of 38 | 38th | |
| CPOEcompletion over expected | +0.0 | 18th of 38 | 54th | |
| Sack rateper dropback, lower is better | 12% | 38th of 38 | 1st | |
| Yards per attempt | 7.3 | 15th of 38 | 62nd | |
| TD rateper attempt | 3% | 32nd of 38 | 17th | |
| INT rateper attempt, lower is better | 1% | 8th of 38 | 79th |
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depth of targetair yards per attempt | 7.2 | 28th of 38 | 28th | |
| Rush EPA per game | +0.30 | 18th of 38 | 54th | |
| Success rate | 46% | 18th of 38 | 54th | |
| ANY/A | 5.81 | 21st of 38 | 46th | |
| Total EPA | -2.1 | 23rd of 38 | 41st |
How this is measured
Each bar is the league at his position; the marker is him. Right is better, the dashed line is the median. Ranks are out of the qualifying pool, ties shown as T-, and move every week as the pool changes.
Watson scores 14.7 standard points a game, QB20 of 34 QBs with enough games. Most weeks land between 11.6 and 19.1; 0 boom weeks (25+) and 2 busts (under 12). Next up, in Week 9, the Saints allow the 16th-fewest standard points to QBs, 17.2 a game.
Watson scores 14.7 half-PPR points a game, QB20 of 34 QBs with enough games. Most weeks land between 11.6 and 19.1; 0 boom weeks (25+) and 2 busts (under 12). Next up, in Week 9, the Saints allow the 16th-fewest half-PPR points to QBs, 17.2 a game.
Watson scores 14.7 PPR points a game, QB20 of 34 QBs with enough games. Most weeks land between 11.6 and 19.1; 0 boom weeks (25+) and 2 busts (under 12). Next up, in Week 9, the Saints allow the 16th-fewest PPR points to QBs, 17.2 a game.
How this is measured
Fantasy points are nflverse's standard and full-PPR scoring (6 points for a rushing or receiving touchdown, 4 for a passing touchdown, minus 2 for an interception or a lost fumble); half PPR is the average of the two. Ranks are points a game among players at his position with at least half the most games played. Most weeks is his 20th to 80th percentile game. Bars are green on a boom week and red on a bust; the dashed line is the starter line, the points a game of the QB12 in a 12-team league. The format you pick is remembered on this device.
How he's usedhis fingerprint, where the ball finds him and when
A shotgun offense: 89% of his dropbacks come from the gun (league 79%). Straight dropbacks: 16% of his attempts come off play action (league 21%). Little motion: 42% of his dropbacks come with pre-snap movement (league 51%).
How this is measured
Every trait is a share of his own dropbacks, so volume does not move it. The marker is him among the league's qualifying quarterbacks; the dashed line is the median. Styles are not grades: a high or low percentile is a description, not a verdict. Play action, screen, RPO, motion and blitz flags come from FTN charting and read low in a week it has not published.
Watson's -2.1 EPA is 23rd of 38 quarterbacks. The biggest share comes after the catch (+121.5, 59th percentile per dropback). Sacks cost him more than most (-51.6, 7th percentile).
career +0.07 over 2017–2024 · his 5th best of 8
How this is measured
Every dropback and run this season, split by what happened. Completions divide at the catch: the yards in the air, and his credited share of what came after (nflverse's air EPA and QB EPA). Per dropback counts scrambles as dropbacks. The percentile is him among the qualifying quarterbacks, higher is better, so a cost smaller than most ranks high. The parts add up to the totals above; the career strip counts seasons with at least 50 attempts.
He throws behind middle 1.7× as often as the league (3% of his attempts against 2%) but averages -0.61 EPA a throw there.
How this is measured
Every pass attempt with a charted depth and direction this season; sacks and throws with no charted direction are left out. Left and right are as the offense sees the field. Cells with fewer than three throws show no EPA.
On the field
By depth of target
Who he works withthe connection, and the rest of the huddle
By depth
Week by weekthe shape of his season, the game log and the defenses behind it
The game
at SaintsCaesars Superdome
NO −2.5 · O/U 43.5
His history
First meeting this season
His status
A soft matchup: the Saints rank 23rd vs the pass, allowing +0.09 EPA per dropback. He has averaged 232 yards a game against bottom-10 defenses this season.
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Snap | Cmp/Att | Yds | TD | INT | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at JAX L 10-347th D | 7th vs the pass | 100% | 16/22 | 205 | 1 | 1 | -5.6 |
| 2 | at TB W 23-192nd D | 2nd vs the pass | 100% | 24/30 | 238 | 2 | +10.4 | |
| 3 | vs CAR W 21-1816th D | 16th vs the pass | 99% | 16/30 | 144 | 2 | +2.5 | |
| 4 | vs PIT W 27-248th D | 8th vs the pass | 100% | 24/33 | 268 | 1 | 1 | +9.2 |
| 5 | at NYJ L 12-1725th D | 25th vs the pass | 100% | 15/33 | 155 | 1 | -12.5 | |
| 6 | vs BAL W 13-1021st D | 21st vs the pass | 100% | 16/26 | 164 | -6.9 | ||
| 7 | at TEN W 27-2428th D | 28th vs the pass | 100% | 25/36 | 308 | 1 | +4.6 | |
| 8 | at PIT L 6-278th D | 8th vs the pass | 94% | 27/39 | 324 | -6.4 | ||
| 9 | at NOSun Nov 8 · next up | |||||||
| 10 | vs HOUSun Nov 15 | |||||||
| 11 | Bye week | |||||||
| 12 | vs LVSun Nov 29 | |||||||
| 13 | vs CINSun Dec 6 | |||||||
| 14 | vs ATLSun Dec 13 | |||||||
| 15 | at NYGSun Dec 20 | |||||||
| 16 | at BALSun Dec 27 | |||||||
| 17 | vs INDSun Jan 3 | |||||||
| 18 | at CINSun Jan 10 | |||||||
| 8 games | 99% | 163/249 | 1806 | 7 | 3 | -4.6 |
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | EPA/DB | CPOE | aDOT | Sk | Sk % | Rush EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at JAX L 10-347th D | 7th vs the pass | -0.21 | +10.3 | 10.4 | 5 | 19% | +4.2 |
| 2 | at TB W 23-192nd D | 2nd vs the pass | +0.32 | +6.4 | 3.6 | 2 | 6% | +1.5 |
| 3 | vs CAR W 21-1816th D | 16th vs the pass | +0.08 | -13.7 | 5.9 | 2 | 6% | -1.3 |
| 4 | vs PIT W 27-248th D | 8th vs the pass | +0.26 | +3.8 | 7.6 | 2 | 6% | -3.8 |
| 5 | at NYJ L 12-1725th D | 25th vs the pass | -0.30 | -15.6 | 9.0 | 8 | 20% | 0.0 |
| 6 | vs BAL W 13-1021st D | 21st vs the pass | -0.22 | -0.8 | 8.0 | 5 | 16% | +0.2 |
| 7 | at TEN W 27-2428th D | 28th vs the pass | +0.12 | +6.9 | 8.2 | 1 | 3% | +2.7 |
| 8 | at PIT L 6-278th D | 8th vs the pass | -0.14 | +3.0 | 5.7 | 8 | 17% | -0.9 |
| 9 | at NOSun Nov 8 · next up | |||||||
| 10 | vs HOUSun Nov 15 | |||||||
| 11 | Bye week | |||||||
| 12 | vs LVSun Nov 29 | |||||||
| 13 | vs CINSun Dec 6 | |||||||
| 14 | vs ATLSun Dec 13 | |||||||
| 15 | at NYGSun Dec 20 | |||||||
| 16 | at BALSun Dec 27 | |||||||
| 17 | vs INDSun Jan 3 | |||||||
| 18 | at CINSun Jan 10 | |||||||
| 8 games | -0.02 | +0.0 | 7.2 | 33 | 12% | +2.4 |
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | INT | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at JAX L 10-347th D | 7th vs the pass | 16 | 22 | 73% | 205 | 9.3 | 1 | 1 | 97.7 |
| 2 | at TB W 23-192nd D | 2nd vs the pass | 24 | 30 | 80% | 238 | 7.9 | 2 | 121.9 | |
| 3 | vs CAR W 21-1816th D | 16th vs the pass | 16 | 30 | 53% | 144 | 4.8 | 2 | 88.8 | |
| 4 | vs PIT W 27-248th D | 8th vs the pass | 24 | 33 | 73% | 268 | 8.1 | 1 | 1 | 94.0 |
| 5 | at NYJ L 12-1725th D | 25th vs the pass | 15 | 33 | 45% | 155 | 4.7 | 1 | 69.6 | |
| 6 | vs BAL W 13-1021st D | 21st vs the pass | 16 | 26 | 62% | 164 | 6.3 | 79.6 | ||
| 7 | at TEN W 27-2428th D | 28th vs the pass | 25 | 36 | 69% | 308 | 8.6 | 1 | 84.0 | |
| 8 | at PIT L 6-278th D | 8th vs the pass | 27 | 39 | 69% | 324 | 8.3 | 94.4 | ||
| 9 | at NOSun Nov 8 · next up | |||||||||
| 10 | vs HOUSun Nov 15 | |||||||||
| 11 | Bye week | |||||||||
| 12 | vs LVSun Nov 29 | |||||||||
| 13 | vs CINSun Dec 6 | |||||||||
| 14 | vs ATLSun Dec 13 | |||||||||
| 15 | at NYGSun Dec 20 | |||||||||
| 16 | at BALSun Dec 27 | |||||||||
| 17 | vs INDSun Jan 3 | |||||||||
| 18 | at CINSun Jan 10 | |||||||||
| 8 games | 163 | 249 | 65% | 1806 | 7.3 | 7 | 3 | 91.2 |
Dropbacks are steady: 38.3 a game over his last three against 35.3 for the season. At or above a starter's median in yards in 4 of 8 games. Week 8 was his season high in yards.
How this is measured
Bars are his week. The shaded band is the league's middle half at his position, every qualifying player-game this season, and the dashed line is its median. The solid line is his trailing three games. An × on the baseline is a game his team played without him; a dotted tick is the bye.
He has faced the 8th-toughest slate vs the pass: his opponents rank 14.4 of 32 on average (league middle 16.6). Ahead: 0 of his next 9 are top-10 vs the pass and 2 are bottom-10, starting with the Saints (23rd, away) in Week 9.
The slate · played solid, ahead dashed
His line by defense faced
| Defenses | G | Att/g | Yds/g | EPA/db |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ranked 1 to 10Top-10 defenses | 4 | 31.0 | 259 | +0.05 |
| 11 to 22Middle | 2 | 28.0 | 154 | -0.07 |
| 23 to 32Bottom-10 | 2 | 34.5 | 232 | -0.10 |
| All games | 8 | 31.1 | 226 | -0.02 |
Yards against the rank of the defense
His production barely moves with the opponent (r = -0.23); it has traveled.
Careerseason by season, back to his rookie year
His best year was 2020, 4,823 passing yards in 16 games with HOU. This season's 225.8 a game puts him on pace for 3,838 over 17, short of it.
| Season | Team | G | Cmp/Att | Pct | Yds | TD | INT | Y/A | Rating | EPA/db |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | HOU | 7 | 126/204 | 62% | 1,699 | 19 | 8 | 8.3 | 103.0 | +0.11 |
| 2018 | HOU | 16 | 345/505 | 68% | 4,165 | 26 | 9 | 8.2 | 103.1 | +0.11 |
| 2019 | HOU | 15 | 333/495 | 67% | 3,852 | 26 | 12 | 7.8 | 98.0 | +0.14 |
| 2020 | HOU | 16 | 382/544 | 70% | 4,823 | 33 | 7 | 8.9 | 112.4 | +0.22 |
| 2022 | CLE | 6 | 99/170 | 58% | 1,102 | 7 | 5 | 6.5 | 79.1 | -0.13 |
| 2023 | CLE | 6 | 105/171 | 61% | 1,115 | 7 | 4 | 6.5 | 84.3 | -0.10 |
| 2024 | CLE | 7 | 137/216 | 63% | 1,148 | 5 | 3 | 5.3 | 79.0 | -0.25 |
| 2026 | CLE | 8 | 163/249 | 65% | 1,806 | 7 | 3 | 7.3 | 91.2 | -0.02 |
| Career | 2 tm | 81 | 1,690/2,554 | 66% | 19,710 | 130 | 51 | 7.7 | 98.0 | +0.06 |
How this is measured
Regular season only, from nflverse weekly stats back to 1999. This season is partial and drawn hollow; the pace is his per-game rate over 17 games. Bold cells are career highs.
Intel & playsthe report, his best snaps, his teammates
- Depth chart
- QB1 · 3WR 1TE
- Injury report
- clean
- Red zone touches
- …
- Third down
- …
- Explosive plays
- …
- CPOE
- +0.0 pts over expected
- Sack rate
- 12%
- Play action
- …
- Blitzed
- …
| Player | Touches | Yds | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|
 Quinshon JudkinsRB | 124 | 476 · 3 TD | -18.5 |
 KC ConcepcionWR | 58 | 386 | +6.8 |
 Denzel BostonWR | 53 | 409 · 3 TD | +5.9 |
 Harold Fannin Jr.TE | 51 | 411 · 3 TD | +13.5 |
 Jerry JeudyWR | 24 | 171 | -0.6 |
 Raheim SandersRB | 21 | 117 | -1.0 |
 Dylan SampsonRB | 18 | 146 | +5.9 |
 Jaleel McLaughlinRB | 17 | 86 · 1 TD | +0.8 |