Deshaun Watson Fantasy Outlook Offers Little Appeal With Heavy Risk in 2021

Deshaun Watson is facing a potential suspension heading into the 2021 NFL season, and that has his fantasy football average draft position (ADP) tanking. According to FantasyPros, he's going off the board as the QB19 — one spot behind Justin Fields.

As a former fantasy football star, that has Watson catching some people's eyes. But don't be fooled — his potential upside isn't worth the risk.

Deshaun Watson Fantasy Football Value

Throwing a late-round dart at Watson might seem to make some sense on the surface. After all, if it doesn't work out you've only wasted a pick in the 11th or 12th round.

But that low risk is the case with any late-round pick, so instead we need to focus on the upside. Hitting on a late-round running back or wide receiver can give you someone like 2020's James Robinson, who has the potential to be a league winner.

At quarterback, the upside isn't usually so high.

Watson averaged 23.1 fantasy points per game in 2020, finishing as the QB7. The difference between Watson and waiver wire streaming type QBs in the QB14-20 range was less than 6 fantasy points per game.

And that's before we factor in Watson's new supporting cast. This Texans offense is shaping up to be one of the worst in the NFL.

Watson lost his best receiver in Will Fuller, and instead of adding more receiving threats the Texans went out and signed an army of journeyman running backs.

So even if Watson gets zero suspension, you're not getting an overly exciting player. And if he misses any time, the chances you end up having to drop him are pretty good (especially when bye weeks roll around).

There's just not enough upside in drafting Watson to make it worth a gamble.

He's unranked on The Duel's 2021 fantasy football rankings.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.