Clemson national championship-winning quarterback Deshaun Watson rejected the notion Thursday that he skipped the Senior Bowl last week in Mobile, Ala., because he doesn't want the Browns to draft him in late April.
Browns coach Hue Jackson and his staff coached in the Senior Bowl. Had Watson accepted his invitation to participate in the college all-star game, he would have played for Jackson as a member of the South team.
Instead, Watson declined.
So NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano told Watson on air during Super Bowl festivities in Houston many Cleveland sports fans think he skipped the event because he doesn't want the Browns to pick him.
"That's wrong, false information," Watson replied. "I talked to Hue Jackson. We had a great conversation right after the national championship game and I told him, 'Hey, this is what I'm thinking about,' and he understood everything. And then I talked with my family. I talked with my agent, my trainer, all the coaches at Clemson, and it was just best for me to go ahead and get started in the draft process.
"I moved to California, so it was just a lot moving from Georgia to California [to train for the NFL Scouting Combine] and then trying to go back to the Senior Bowl and then come back and train, then come to the Super Bowl. There's so much going on. I just want to get healthy and get my draft process started."
The Browns have two picks in the first round (Nos. 1 and 12 overall) and could select one of the top-rated quarterbacks in the draft _ Watson, North Carolina's Mitch Trubisky or Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer _ if they don't trade for New England Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo or make another splash to acquire a veteran.
At the Senior Bowl, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said if the Browns "pass on Deshaun Watson, they're passing on Michael Jordan."
Watson also told NFL Network he'll throw at the combine, which begins Feb. 28.
