From Steve Young to Carson Wentz: Comparing young NFL stars to a legend

One NFL legend that most closely resembles Watson: Randall Cunningham

When Randall Cunningham entered the NFL, he was dubbed by Sports Illustrated as ‘The Ultimate Weapon’. When DeShaun Watson was one of the hot topics, his head coach at the collegiate level, Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers said ‘if you pass on (DeShaun Watson), you’re passing on Michael Jordan’.

It was pretty high praise for both of them, and both of these young gentlemen have done a nice job of living up to the expectations. When the Pro Football Hall of Fame announces its’ new class in February, they’ll be inducting an expanded class, one that may include ‘Scramblin’ Randall’ and Donovan McNabb.

They’re among the best quarterbacks being mentioned for consideration, along with Boomer Esiason.

Once upon a time, before Watson and McNabb played, African-American quarterbacks weren’t seen by many as leaders. They weren’t seen as being capable of playing the position. Since then, the efforts of Cunningham, Michael Vick, and Hall of Fame inductee Warren Moon have proven that African-American quarterbacks can succeed at the highest level of football.

Now, seeing guys like DeShaun Watson is commonplace. He’s the new ‘ultimate weapon’. Plus he’s got the jets and a cannon for an arm, much like the original.