Fantasy Football Outlook of Deshaun Watson as the Browns' Week 1 Starting Quarterback

Deshaun Watson leads the Browns quarterback competition, perhaps piquing interest as a high-upside draft pick.

Deshaun Watson, quarterback, throws a pass at the Browns mini camp in Berea on April 21, 2026. | Lisa Scalfaro / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The offseason is underway for the Cleveland Browns, led by their new head coach, Todd Monken. The team went into the NFL Draft without drafting a top quarterback, as was largely expected, but not being 100% certain by consensus. Monken's Browns now proceed forward towards Week 1 with a battle between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders. New reports suggest that one of the two is landing himself as the clear leader in the QB competition.

Fantasy Football Impact

With my breaking news here that Deshaun Watson has taken the lead over Shedeur Sanders in the #Browns QB competition and has the inside track to win it, I think they should declare him QB1 asap and let the 1st team offense start to cook. There's no time to waste: https://t.co/HDkyNnugo7

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) April 29, 2026

Per Cleveland.com's Mary Kate Cabot, Watson is squarely in the lead to become the Browns' Week 1 starter at Quarterback. The team underwent a voluntary minicamp recently, and despite Sanders being perceived as the Browns' most likely starter, Watson reportedly looked better than his counterpart at minicamp.

The offseason is early on, but if Watson does go on to become the starter, it will be a very volatile job at that. Since 2022, when Watson returned from a long time away from football, he has seen middling output: 19 games, 3,365 yards (61.2% Comp%), 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions (80.7 Passer Rtg.), and 70 sacks allowed (3.7 per game).

The decline of Watson can be chalked up to a 30% decrease from his pre-2022 form. The hope for Browns fans is that Watson improves over a full offseason with a new head coach, thus a moderate change of scenery. Logically, he should get better given all circumstances.

If Watson does start, he will work with an average offense supporting cast. That includes Quinshon Judkins at running back and Jerry Jeudy as WR1, supported by two high-level rookies in KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston.

The very rough projection for Watson could be 200-230 yards per game and a 2:1 TD: INT ratio. Watson can still run for 20-30 yards per game. He may be too risky to draft as your starting fantasy football quarterback, but Watson has upside that is very worth being a stash. In 2-QB leagues, he is actually quite viable.

The ranking on Watson shall linger somewhere around QB20, if starting come Week 1. That slots Watson around fellow quarterbacks in Jared Goff, Jordan Love, Daniel Jones, and CJ Stroud.

If owned in dynasty fantasy football, Watson's stock seems only to be rising. Thus, he shall not be sold. Much like when a stock dips on Wall Street, it is better to hold than to sell.