Deshaun Watson Trade Odds
Superstar Quarterback Deshaun Watson wants out of the Houston Texans organization, formally requesting the team for a trade. This is not breaking news, as national, and local sports media analysts have been hinting at this possibility for weeks. Now that it is official that Watson no longer wants to be a Houston Texan, let’s take a dive into the possible landing spots along with the betting odds courtesy of Fanduel Sportsbook.
Currently, this 2021 player’s futures bet is only available to Colorado users on FanDuel Sportsbook. Check out more articles like this and Super Bowl Prop bets and picks at BettingData.
- New York Jets +230
- Carolina Panthers +300
- Miami Dolphins +700
- San Fransico 49ers +850
- Denver Broncos +1000
- New England Patriots +1200
- Chicago Bears +1500
- Washington Football Team +1700
- Indianapolis Colts +2200
- See All Odds
The disparity in the odds of some teams goes to show just how hard predicting where Watson can end up is this early into the offseason of most NFL teams. In reality, unless you have Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, Kyler Murray, or Josh Allen most teams should be on the phone with the Texans inquiring about Watson. Let’s take a dive into how and why these are the best fits for Watson.
New York Jets: (+230)
The New York Jets have struggled to find consistent success with only one winning record in the last ten seasons, that being 10-6 in 2015. The Jets are desperate for a franchise Quarterback and have all of the requested trade pieces for land Watson. They hold two first-round picks in the 2021 NFL Draft, the 2nd overall and 23rd overall picks. While the demand for Watson will be record-breaking, the Jets have nowhere to go but up after their 2-14 2020 season.
The Jets have the third-highest amount of cap space at $63.4M, they can absolutely afford to give up early-round draft capital for Watson and add to their roster via the 2-5 rounds of the draft along with free agency. The Jets have the resources to snag a wide receiver off of the free-agent market ie: Allen Robinson, Chris Godwin, or Will Fuller to ensure Watson has weapons at his disposal. This is a quarterback-driven league, a move for Watson doesn’t fix all of the New York Jets problems, but it sure does give them the face of the franchise they so desperately need to build around.
Carolina Panthers: (+300)
The Carolina Panthers’ offense struggled in the 2020 season, mainly due to the Christian McCaffrey injuries, but also the average quarterback play from Teddy Bridgewater. Plug-in Deshaun Watson and the Panthers have the best QB/RB duo in the NFL, a scary thought for the rest of the league.
The Panthers hold the 8th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, this is where the trade package would start along with Bridgewater and more. New head coach, Matt Rhule has player personnel power as well and can build the team to his liking, which may include a major upgrade at QB.
On the flip side, Teddy Bridgewater could be used as a bridge QB for the Texans while they draft, or wait for the right QB prospect in a future draft. One flaw in this deal would be the fact that Bridgewater is owed $17M, and $20M over the next two seasons. Along with the Panthers only having $7M in cap space at the moment, this could be a problem in making this trade happen. The Texans may not be looking to take on any additional money unless the Panthers make it a must take offer.
Miami Dolphins: (+700)
The Dolphins are building a winning culture in Miami lead by head coach Brian Flores. Flores has improved the Dolphins from a rough first year that resulted in a 5-11 record in 2019 to a surprising 10-6 in 2020. The QB carousel was a problem with the Dolphins, but Tagovailoa still has great value to include in a deal for Watson.
The Dolphins have two first-round picks, 3rd and 18th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. A package deal of current picks, future picks, and players including QB Tua Tagovailoa might be the most attractive for the Houston Texans. The Dolphins have $23.7M in cap space, which is enough to make the trade for Watson and try to add a piece or two via free agency. If the Texans aren’t sold on the QB draft class of 21′, it’s possible they trade for the draft capital along with a promising QB that they can groom into their own.
San Francisco 49ers (+850)
The most intriguing team as to the be the 49ers, as they are only one year removed from their Super Bowl LIV loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The 49ers can move on from Jimmy Garoppolo with a very minimal dead cap hit of $2.8M. A small price to pay for a team that is a star QB away from contending on a yearly basis for a top spot in the NFC conference.
The 49ers hold the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and $9.5M in cap space for the upcoming season. They have plenty of talent on both sides of the ball and picks at their disposal to make this mega-trade a reality.
Watson immediately makes the 49ers a Super Bowl contender for the following reasons. The 49ers have an established run game with whichever of their RBs is healthy; Raheem Mostert, Justin Wilson Jr. Their WR core is young and growing with the likes of Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Not to mention they have the 2nd best tight end in the NFL, George Kittle. It would be the perfect deal to make for the 49ers, and a great destination for Watson to be on a Super Bowl contending team.
Sleeper Team
The best bang for your buck on FanDuel Sportsbook will be a team with young talent, an abundance of picks, and the cap space for the Watson contract. Don’t sleep on the Washington Football Team at +1700, with an immense amount of cap space in 2021 ($35M) along with young talent acquired over the years. The Washington Football was a year early in their success, they won the division in 2020 in the first year under new head coach Ron Rivera. With the release of former 1st round pick Dwyane Haskins, the Washington Football team will be headed into the 2021 NFL season with a QB room of Alex Smith, and Steven Montez. The Washington Football Team was just a starting QB away from possibly upsetting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 wild card round, ultimately losing that game 31-23.
The WFT hold the 19th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, they would need to put together a package deal with that 19th overall pick to get the Texans to deal Watson. This roster could survive the big trade that would be required to land Watson and is an interesting destination as the NFC East seems to always be up for grabs.
