Houston Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt had some high praise for New York Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold after the Texans' 29-22 win on Saturday, telling the first-year signal-caller that he was going to be a “great pro”:

Watt extrapolated on Darnold later on his postgame news session, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk:

“I told him he’s a good player,” Watt said in his postgame media session. “I told him he’s a good player. He ran around all night, made a lot of plays on the run. He can scramble. He can make throws. He’s a good player. And obviously, he’s young and he’s got a great future ahead of him, so I told him he’s a great player and good luck.”

Darnold had arguably his best game of the season against the Texans, throwing for 253 yards and two touchdowns while completing 63.2 percent of his passes and registering a passer rating of 100. In addition, he carried the ball six times for 35 yards.

In what has been a very up-and-down rookie campaign checkered with injuries for Darnold, to have that type of performance against a good team on the road had to be a confidence-booster. And then, to receive that type of praise from one of the best defensive players to ever step on the field afterward had to feel even better.

Overall this year, Darnold has thrown for 2,357 yards, 14 touchdowns and a league-leading 15 interceptions. He has completed 56.7 percent of his passes and has posted a passer rating of 72.8.

The 21-year-old was chosen by the Jets with the third overall pick of the NFL Draft back in April.