If Browns coach Hue Jackson is going to fall in love with Clemson national championship-winning quarterback Deshaun Watson before April's draft, apparently it won't happen next week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
Late Tuesday, Matt Miller of BleacherReport.com reported Watson would not attend the Senior Bowl and had hired David Mulugheta as his agent.
Jackson and the Browns will coach in the Senior Bowl this year, and Watson would have played for them on the South team had he accepted the invitation he received from game officials.
The Browns own two first-round picks in this year's draft -- the first and 12th overall selections -- and need a quarterback as much as any team. The Chicago Bears, who have the third overall pick, will coach the North team.
Coaching Watson in three practices next week and then the all-star game on Jan. 28 would have been an invaluable experience for the Browns as they sort through their options at the game's most important position this offseason.
Watson, North Carolina's Mitch Trubisky, a Mentor native, and Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer, a Toledo native, are the top-ranked quarterbacks in this year's draft.
Of those three juniors, only Watson was eligible to play in the Senior Bowl because he graduated early. Without getting to coach him in the showcase, the Browns wouldn't have a chance to interact with him until quarterbacks report to the NFL Scouting Combine on March 1 in Indianapolis.
Last week, Senior Bowl Executive Director Phil Savage told the Beacon Journal the Browns, Watson, Savage and the event -- "everybody involved" -- would benefit if the player were to accept his invitation.
"It would be big [for the Browns] because they get a chance to work with him up close and personal," Savage said. "They get a chance to really see if they believe that he can adapt to what they want him to do, and, of course, it gives them a chance to really be able to make a comparison between he and some of the other quarterbacks that are out there that they’re going to be trying to evaluate."
Savage also said Watson could help "his quest to go as high as possible in the draft" by attending the Senior Bowl.
"The question mark on all these college quarterbacks, particularly ones that have played in the spread [offense like Watson], is can they make the transition to an NFL-style system? This would give him an opportunity to showcase that transition," Savage said. "Although it’s a small sample size, that would be a factor.
"The other thing because of Deshaun’s leadership traits, the quality of his character, those things would shine through in this kind of setting very quickly, and he gets a head start on all the other quarterbacks that are either not in the game or are not eligible for the game that have to wait until the combine before they get in front of the teams."
But Watson will reportedly let his clutch performance in Clemson's 35-31 victory over top-ranked Alabama in the College Football Playoff title game on Jan. 9 serve as a lasting memory until the combine.