QB Deshaun Watson fits Bears’ winning bill, but what else?

INDIANAPOLIS – Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson isn’t bothered that his college coach, Dabo Swinney, compared him to Michael Jordan.

He wants to be like Mike.

He just knows he’s not there yet. Not even close.

“I’m no Michael Jordan; I’m Deshaun Watson,” Watson said Friday during the NFL Scouting Combine. “My goal is, for one day, to be able to have people talk about me like they do Michael Jordan.”

To do that, Watson understands that he’ll be expected to elevate an NFL team — regardless of when he’s drafted — to championship heights as Jordan did six times with the Bulls and he did in his last season at Clemson.

When it comes to the Bears’ evaluations, a winning pedigree matters plenty. General manager Ryan Pace said so at the Senior Bowl and doubled down on the importance of that characteristic at the combine.

“You want to see a guy who has elevated his program,” Pace said. “Again, you just reference places you’ve been. I know I’ve talked about this player a lot because he had a big impact on me. But I think about [Drew] Brees when he was at Purdue, and he elevated that program. He took them to the Rose Bowl. That means something. That’s something that we have to pay attention to.”

No quarterback in this draft fits that winning bill better than Watson, who won a national championship by beating an Alabama team chock-full of soon-to-be NFL players on defense.

How would Watson lift a downtrodden franchise?

“Just come in, create our environment — a winning environment — and get everyone on the same page,” Watson said. “You just got to be patient with it and take time. Winning at the NFL level is not easy. It’s tough. Each and every week is a tough week. You got to be able to be on the same page with guys and pull it out.

“[But] just being able to have that experience of winning, maybe it can spread throughout a team and franchise and spread throughout the players and maybe turn a franchise around.”

The Bears would certainly love that. Every team that needs a quarterback would.

Yet, there are questions about Watson. He was a shotgun quarterback at Clemson who requires time to adjust to being in huddles and under center. His vision, decision-making and ability to read defenses also are among his question marks. Watson threw 30 interceptions over his final two seasons at Clemson.

Aside from the intangibles, Pace has called a quarterback’s decision-making critical.

“The biggest question that I’ve heard from different coaches was if I can change a protection, run the offense and recognize defensive coverages,” Watson said. “Every team I went to asked me those questions.”

Opinions will vary regarding who is the best quarterback in this year’s class from Watson to North Carolina’s Mitchell Trubisky to Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer. But in general, they’re considered the best of an average class.

“Is there talk about a ready-made guy already in this one? Probably not, but you never know,” Broncos general manager John Elway said. “You had a couple last year. Obviously, there is not a surefire guy, at least not one that has come to the head just yet.”

Watson considers the criticism motivation.

“It’s just going to make the documentary and the story in five to 10 years even better whenever they start talking good about us,” Watson said.

EARLY OPTIONS

Mitchell Trubisky, North Carolina

There is a lot to like about him – arm strength, accuracy, decision-making and so on – but he’s a tough evaluation for teams because he started only one season in college.

“I’m confident in who I am and I’m confident that I can be a franchise quarterback at the next level. So I’m just trying to portray that to them and be myself.”

DeShone Kizer, Notre Dame

He physically looks the part at 6-4 and a big arm, but he went 4-8 last year as Notre Dame’s starter and has a high interception rate.

“It’s more with a guy my size, my arm talent, my understanding of football, why do you go 4-8? I’ve answered that question as truthfully as I possibly can, and that’s, ‘I didn’t make plays.’ ”