Texans OC says Deshaun Watson’s “excited” about offense

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Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson used to have one of the best receivers in the NFL.

Now, he has Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb and running back David Johnson, and things are suddenly very different in Houston.

“I think Deshaun’s excited,” offensive coordinator Tim Kelly said, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “I don’t want to speak for him, but with the communication that we’ve had these however many days throughout this virtual offseason, he’s come in with a great mindset, coming in, trying to get better at some areas and really take grasp of the offense. He’s doing a great job as far as that’s concerned.

“Then, yeah, obviously there’s versatility that goes along with playing that wide receiver position, being able to play inside and outside and do some different things and have a diversified route tree. It’s all things that are going to help us basically take the next step here as an offense.”

While Cobb’s ability in the slot is helpful, going from DeAndre Hopkins to Cooks is not an upgrade, and even if they have a role for Johnson, it’s hard to find value in his part of the transaction considering the contract they absorbed in the deal with Arizona.

That’s going to put more of a burden on Watson, who is adjusting to a new play-caller in Kelly as well.

“I think you always — if you’re calling plays or you’re a part of the play calling process, you want to make sure that you’re seeing the game through same set of eyes as the quarterback, that you’re all on the same page, that you all have the same vision of the play when the play gets called,” Kelly said. “That’s something where as we continue to grow, that’s going to be important. And yeah, there’s things that Deshaun needs to get better at, as all of us need to improve on.

“We’ve talked about that with him, coming out and being consistent and playing at that — he’s set the bar so high, so it’s really a challenge for him to be able to play at that level every time he steps on the field.”

The Texans picked up the fifth-year option for Watson, though they’ve started talking about the massive contract extension which they could do now if they wanted.