Sports Illustrated released their 2019 all-25-and-under team, and Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson was left off the list.
While Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the starter among the two quarterbacks chosen, a no-brainer, Cleveland Browns field general Baker Mayfield was picked as the backup.
Author Andy Benoit does not provide any explanation as to why Mayfield was chosen over Watson, let alone the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, who was also a division-winning quarterback from 2018. Instead, it is lathering up Mahomes, which is totally justified for the league-leader in touchdowns and led Kansas City to within a coin toss from the Super Bowl last year.
History suggests Mahomes will be better this season than in his MVP 2018 season, and better again in 2020, but it’s hard to envision much room for improvement. He lit the league on fire in 2018. However, he can still get even better not just mentally (where he’s already ahead of the curve and figures to start seeing things faster) but physically. Amazing as he was, Mahomes last season misfired on a handful of throws each game. That’s likely one reason he is working diligently on his footwork this summer. Mahomes might never throw with unwavering down-to-down accuracy—an errant ball or two could be the cost of doing business with such an unconventionally gifted thrower. Of course, Mahomes more than compensates for rogue incompletions by connecting on a few throws each game that other quarterbacks couldn’t even attempt. With Mahomes under center, you can do anything and everything schematically.
Why Mayfield over Watson? Why Mayfield over Jackson? Why Mayfield even over Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who won a playoff game at least? It may be that Mayfield has a better career than the trio listed, but to this point, they have accomplished more, especially Watson, who was the catalyst for the Texans turning an 0-3 start into an 11-5 finish and an AFC South crown.
It could be that Watson is laced with the stigma of the Texans, who have yet to appear in an AFC championship game. But then, why even let Mayfield near the list? The last time Cleveland played in a conference title game, the Oilers were in Houston and “Texans” was used by a Dallas-based Arena Football League team.
The offseason doldrums continue.
