Anthony Campanile reveals why Jaguars can't take Deshaun Watson lightly

The Jacksonville Jaguars just found out that Deshaun Watson will be the starting quarterback when they play the Cleveland Browns in the season opener. The decision should most definitely give the Jags an edge and propel them to their first win of the 2026 season. Having said that, they cannot afford to take him lightly. Defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile certainly isn't.

Campanile met with reporters on Day 18 of training camp. He heaped praise on Watson after he was named the starter for Week 1, pointing out that he never had much success when he faced him in college.

"I got the opportunity to coach against him in college when I was at Boston College, and he was at Clemson," Campanile told reporters (4:32 part). I mean, it was a phenomenal player. So we didn't have too much success against him that night when I was at BC. But he's a great player, and he's certainly going to be a challenge. The stuff they're doing, just watching him to this point, they're doing a lot of really good stuff. They're doing a great job."

Of course, Watson is no longer the quarterback who went 12th overall in the 2017 draft. And if the Jags take his threat seriously, they should be in a favorable position to trounce Cleveland in the season opener.

The Jaguars now know they'll face Deshaun Watson in Week 1of the regular season

The Browns hired Todd Monken as their head coach in 2025. He had resounding success as the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens and was able to get the most out of quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Maybe Monken can work his magic with Deshaun Watson. This is probably why Anthony Campanile is keeping close tabs on him. He said during his exchange with reporters that he always tries to pay attention to what opposing teams are doing. Cleveland is no different.

"We always kind of trying to peak and stay up on as much as you can, and when you have, I don't know if you have any downtime, but downtime you're trying to go around and just around the league watching as much as you can. So yeah, that's always part of it this time of year too," Campanile said.

Monken had previously told the media that he would name the starting quarterback on the Monday before the preseason finale. True to his word, he revealed Watson got the nod over sophomore Shedeur Sanders, noting that the decision was made based on what's best for Cleveland in the short term.

That means Monken thought that Watson gave the Browns a best chance to beat the Jaguars.

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What should the Jaguars expect from Deshaun Watson in Week 1?

The Browns didn't take Deshaun Watson's comments about being booed by fans when deciding who would get the start behind center. Instead, his performance against the Buffalo Bills played a role. The trouble is that he went an underwhelming 5-of-12 for 36 yards. It's also worth noting that the former Clemson Tiger has just appeared in 19 games for Cleveland dating back to 2022, completing 61.2 percent of his throws for 3,365 yards with 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

While that's not a dreadful statline, that's probably not the kind of production the Browns expected when they sent three first-round picks to the Houston Texans in return for Watson. Then again, that's the kind of matchup the Jaguars will be thrilled to get in the season opener.

Winning in the NFL isn't easy, but the Jags have the talent to beat Deshaun Watson. They just have to commit to fundamentals and execution. If they do, they'll get off to a strong start to the regular season.

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