Why the heck isn't Deshaun Watson the No. 1 pick?

It was January 1 when the quarterback-needy Cleveland Browns clinched the first overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft with an overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Nine days later, Clemson's Deshaun Watson threw the game-winning touchdown pass with one second to play in the national championship game against Alabama, capping an incredible 420-yard, three-touchdown performance against the nation's top-ranked defense.

The Browns have had 26 quarterbacks in the past 18 seasons, but not even they could screw this one up, right? Draft Watson, clearly the best quarterback in college football, and have your starter for the next 10 seasons.

Apparently it's not that easy, as the Browns are almost certainly drafting pass-rusher wizard Myles Garrett out of Texas A&M instead.

Here's a couple reasons being given as to why Watson isn't going first overall.

There's no surefire top-10 quarterbacks in this year's draft

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A year ago on Thursday, Roger Goodell walked onto the stage at Roosevelt University's Auditorium Theatre and pronounced, "With the first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Rams select Jared Goff, quarterback, California."

He followed that up by announcing quarterback Carson Wentz from North Dakota State as the second overall pick. You may be unfamiliar with that school because they don't even play at the FBS level.

To recap, a guy whose team went 14-23 while he was the quarterback and a dude from an FCS program went first and second overall just last year, but there's no surefire top-10 quarterback this year? Right.

Here's Goff's stats from his three seasons at Cal:

Here's Watson's stats from his three seasons at Clemson. Notice the average rank of the defense both quarterbacks played against.

*Missed 5 games due to injury

Watson also led his team to back-to-back 14-1 records with two straight appearances in the national championship game, including one win. Cal's defense was a tire fire while Goff was there, but 14 total wins certainly isn't flattering.

There's absolutely no reason Watson shouldn't be a top pick in a league that drafted such flawed prospects as Goff and Wentz in the No. 1 and No. 2 slots.

Watson's got too many weaknesses

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According to Watson's NFL draft profile, here's a few of the weaknesses the Clemson pivot has:

• Frame is a little more slender than teams typically like
• Accuracy runs hot and cold
• Shotgun quarterback who could take time getting used to huddling, pace of play-calling and drop-backs from under center
• Design of offense limited his need to make full-field reads

If those listed weaknesses look familiar, it's because they are almost identical to Goff's NFL draft profile the previous year:

• Spent 99.8 percent of his pass snaps from pistol or shotgun
• Rhythm passer who benefited from the uptempo and "quick game" of his college offense
• Leaner in the lower body than teams might like
• Hits a rough patch with accuracy from time to time

Again, Goff was a consensus, surefire No. 1 overall pick. Watson, a questionable top-10 selection.

Now that we rebuffed the questions on Watson, let's look at the No.1 reason why the Browns should take the man first overall.

He shredded Nick Saban's defense at Alabama

In two national championship games against the legendary coach's dominant defense, Watson compiled an absurd 941 total yards, completed 64 percent of his passes, and amassed eight total touchdowns against just one interception. The first time he faced the Crimson Tide, they entered with the nation's second-ranked defense. The second time he saw Saban's outfit, they had the nation's top-ranked unit.

It didn't matter.

Watson has showed time and time again that he's built for the biggest stage. While now is an appropriate time to insert a, "The Browns don't know what the biggest stage is," joke, if they take Watson first overall, they will get there soon enough.