Earlier this week, a report emerged from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler about potential destinations for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson if the franchise grants his request and he’s able to wiggle free as desired. Fowler noted that there are a few teams on Watson’s wish list, including the Denver Broncos. Cue the scratch of a record needle.
.@JFowlerESPN from a source:
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) February 12, 2021
"Deshaun Watson has a list of teams he's 'intrigued by' ... I didn't get all the teams, but I was told that the Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers are two of them. ... I was told the Jets, 'eh probably not.'" pic.twitter.com/8YOmTbF3zw
Just for the sake of clarification, this “report” is wishful thinking at this point. The Texans have shown themselves to be dysfunctional but they’re still a professional team ran by thinking individuals. Given that, it seems outrageous they would ever trade Watson to any team for any bounty given how difficult it is to find the white whale of player acquisitions: a young, elite quarterback. The Texans have one of a handful in the NFL and they should never, ever let him go.
At the same time, the Texans are clearly cleaning house from top to bottom, have already traded away or released precious assets over the last 12 months, and Watson is furious with the team. He might have very little leverage in the end, but he’ll undoubtedly stir up drama as best as he can. It’s possible the Texans might be foolish enough to try to just reset the whole system.
Deshaun Watson has shown interest in playing for Broncos.
All of this means that there are several steps between Fowler’s report and reality—that Watson is just wishing on a star and even then there are conflicting reports about which teams he wants. After all, reporter Woody Paige recently noted that Watson had “zero interest” in Denver.
But back to Fowler for a second. Let’s assume the planets aligned over Houston and the Texans decided to part ways with Watson. And then let’s assume that the Broncos put together a package that could top everyone else for his services. Then let’s also assume that Watson agreed that Denver was an acceptable place to land.
If so, the AFC West would be absolutely rocked.
It’s easy as Kansas City Chiefs fans to just assume continued domination year after year as long as Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are in place. That’s likely true that the Chiefs will claim several more division titles (and hopefully more than that) when all is said and done. But it’s also true the AFC West can’t keep bumbling around like they have, and that Watson would be a significant game-changer in the West race.
Just last season, the Chiefs only suffered two losses and both were to division rivals. Of course, we all know one of those came when Reid rested his starters, but we’d be remiss if we also didn’t admit that the Chargers took the Chiefs to overtime in Justin Herbert’s very first game as a pro. Meanwhile, the Raiders took a victory lap for their efforts at Arrowhead in Week 5. It might hurt to admit, but the truth was that the Raiders played very, very good football that day.
If the Chiefs were suddenly forced to play Deshaun Watson and Justin Herbert twice each season to win the title, that looks a lot tougher than Drew Lock and Philip Rivers every season. Suddenly, within a couple years, the AFC West would turn into one of the toughest divisions in the NFL. Certainly it would also serve as the home of the league’s best quarterbacks—Mahomes, Herbert, and Watson in one division? That’s likely three of the top 7 to 10 talents at the position in one quartet of teams.
The Broncos would need to build around Watson if they traded for him, and the Texans’ demands would keep them from doing so quickly. However, everything is much easier once the quarterback is in place (although the Texans never seemed to learn that lesson).
Will the Chiefs continue to win the AFC West for years to come? That’s the likeliest outcome of any. But winning and dominating are two different things and the West would be a lot tougher if Watson were to join the ranks. It’s tough enough for a team to put together the talent, to stay healthy, and to be fortunate enough to make it to the Super Bowl. With a tougher division, the road each season would feel all the more grueling with Watson in Denver—if, by any chance, it were to ever happen.