Deshaun Watson – QB
There’s no doubt that Deshaun Watson is the No. 1 Texans player who could be a major headache for the Vikings this week.
This guy is a magician in the pocket as he can create extra time with his quick feet and escapability. That’s a terrible combination for a team like Minnesota that can’t apply pressure to the quarterback or cover receivers.
The Vikings have just three sacks on the season and they have given semi-mobile quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers and Ryan Tannehill ample time to find open targets.
While Rodgers and Tannehill are good athletes, they aren’t in the same stratosphere as Watson. If Minnesota can even get close to him it might not matter because this guy is so slick and evasive. He can create extra time and he will almost certainly find an open target downfield.
The reason he’ll find an open target is that the Vikings corners have been struggling to cover opposing receivers so far this year. Davante Adams had a field day against Holton Hill in Week 1 and Minnesota’s poor coverage against Khalif Raymond allowed the Titans to get back into the game in Week 3 to eventually take the lead.
Watson is a horrible matchup for a team struggling to get after the passer. Mike Zimmer will have to get very creative in figuring out ways to get to him and have a linebacker spy him at all times so he isn’t able to scamper down the field to pick up first downs that keep drives alive.