Bill O'Brien might be adjusting the Houston Texans' offense in 2018, but that doesn't mean we'll see a wildly different Deshaun Watson.
The second-year quarterback lit the NFL on fire last season as a dual-threat wunderkind in six starts before tearing his ACL. Despite the injury, Watson said he wouldn't fear to utilize his legs.
"My game's not changing," he said Tuesday, via ESPN's Sarah Barshop. "Whatever you [saw] last year is going to be the same, if not better. I've dealt with adversity before, had injuries before. I didn't let that slow me down. It just changed my attitude about the game.
"A lot of people would think that I'd come back hesitant, but I'm going to make sure I come back more forceful and with a stronger and more intense attitude."
Watson's ACL injury officially happened during practice, but the quarterback said he believed the tear started in the previous game -- a wild loss to the Seattle Seahawks in which he had 402 yards passing, four TDs, three interceptions and 67 rushing yards. He previously tore his ACL as a freshman at Clemson. The next season he led the Tigers to the National Championship Game and finished third in Heisman Trophy voting.
O'Brien suggested earlier this offseason that he's not worried about Watson taking a beating, as the QB knows when to get out of harm's way. Nevertheless, Houston is tweaking the offense to accentuate Watson's strengths.
"We were very simple last year," Watson said. "With me being in the system for a whole year and having the offseason, there's a lot more that we can do with the offense than we did last year."
Watson morphed into one of the most exciting young players in the NFL for six weeks last season. If he can remain healthy, the Texans' offense could be one of the most intriguing units of 2018.
