Jadeveon Clowney
I don’t envy the Texans in the draft this year. The best player in this draft is Clowney by a mile. He plays a position that is vital to today’s passing oriented game. He’d get to play along Cushing (For the 3-4 games before his injury) and Watt. The Texans would have a crushing defense. But most of their problems last year were caused by issues at the QB position. QBs are also the most important position in football. As of this writing they have T.J. Yates, Case Keenum and Ryan Fitzpatrick. That’s not going to get the job done, unless Keenum takes major steps forward. Some are saying the Texans should trade down (Maybe fleece the Redskins! The Rams can give them advice) and others are expecting them to take a QB in the 2nd round.
Personally I think they should take Clowney and maybe trade back into the late first to get one of the lesser ranked QBs, or just take one at 33. But I’m not a GM.
Can’t pass on Clowney, especially since the gap between Bortles/Manziel/Bridgewater/Carr and Garoppolo/Metternberger/McCarron isn’t that huge in my mind, and one of those three is sure to be available at 33. For the sake of an interesting draft I hope they pass though, the Rams would have an all-out bidding war if he slipped to #2.
If Clowney fell to #2, St. Louis would trade that pick and make another motherlode of picks from it…
They need a QB this draft may be one the best for QBs ever. It would be like the Elway and Dan Marino, except the QBs would probably pan out better.
Where’s the sexy rexy? I’m stumped
Third panel. On a toast crunch. Right side
I’m from Houston and I don’t think Clowney is a slam dunk. We’ll probably end up taking him but honestly he isn’t the “once in a generation talent” everyone says he is. He is a skinnier version of Mario Williams (who we also drafted) and while Mario is of course good, still not a slam dunk. Williams was stronger as well. All that being said, we took Williams over Reggie Bush who seemed like the true “generational talent” so the Texans will probably pick Clowney. Whatever Bill O Brien goes with though I’m behind.
Just curious, if you guys instead aim for a QB, which one would you like to see the Texans pick up? At this point it’s either Clowney or a QB, I don’t think the Texans would do anything else.
There are other players in the draft?
I’m admittedly not a Texans expert, but it’s probably between Bortles and Bridgewater in the QB race. You either take the very pro ready, intelligent, “sure thing” with Bridgewater (Solid mechanics, ran a pro style offense, full field reads, amazing poise & feel in the pocket), or you roll the dice on the better physical toolkit & upside with Bortles, though he is quite rough around the edges and his physical advantage isn’t that great (throws off the back foot a lot, generally half field reads, lots of shotgun snaps).
I’d consider Bridgewater the favorite. Pro days are overrated, he is going to kill it in interviews & workouts with his football intelligence
Biased opinion: As an aggie, I would absolutely love Manziel. Schaub’s shown why mobile quarterbacks are necessary (or at least guys who can avoid pressure) and he’s a fierce competitor. We’ve been known as the polite nice team for a while and he’d bring an edge that could help.
Unbiased opinion: We will take Bridgewater. Mobile enough, solid arm, can make all the reads. Was a consensus number 1 not too long ago, not sure what changed.
What I can see happening: Bill O Brien like Bortles in his system. I can totally imagine a tall, “stereotypical” QB fitting in great with O’Brien’s system and him tearing it up. Don’t think Bortles alone has the most to offer, but as a product of this system he could do very well.
Let me rip all three of these QBs a new one:
Manziel – Narcissistic headcase who cares only about himself. Is obsessed with the spotlight & the attention that comes with it. Improvises way too much on the field & doesn’t always make the smart throws. Takes too many risks with the ball & his body trying to make something happen. O’Brien is from the Belicheck tree, which is branched off the Parcells tree. One of Parcells’ credos about QBs is “Don’t be a celebrity QB”. Manziel has failed miserably in that aspect.
Bridgewater – He’s pretty much everything you want in a QB, but his slim frame scares people. Scouts wonder if his body would be able to take the beating of the NFL. Also his pro day performance highlighted his inaccuracy with his deep throws. I think he has the skills to be the best of the class, but I wouldn’t touch him at #1.
Bortles – Do not be fooled by his size. Some scouts are starting to say he could be another Blaine Gabbert. He doesn’t have the arm strength you expect someone of his size to have. Also, it’s not good when your own college coach, who just happened to mentor the coach holding the #1 pick, comes out & says that “there isn’t a single franchise QB in this class”, he pretty much just threw you under the bus.
Keep it simple stupid. Just take Clowney
Or they could just take Derek Carr.
TROLOLOLOLOL
Coming from a Texans fan with absolutely no bias towards any local colleges, the Texans won’t take a QB at #1, period. None of them are worth the #1 pick. Right now, most people would say that the top 5 players in this class are Clowney, Robinson, Watkins, Mack, & Matthews. Don’t reach for a QB when none of them are worth the pick you’re taking them at (see Vikings, Browns, Jags, etc). That’s how you end up in QB hell. I’ve seen this analogy & I’ll repeat it here:
“Don’t pass on the 1st prize sports car (Clowney) for the 2nd prize riding lawnmower (QB) because your old lawnmower broke down. Take the damn brand new Mustang & park that thing next to your Corvette (Watt)”
Would love to see him in Brown and orange. Or whatever atrocious uniforms Nike comes up with for Cleveland. God help us all…
Regarding the alt-text, I cannot confirm since I’ve never seen a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch in my vicinity that survived longer than a minute.
Texans fan here… in the same vein it was a shocker when they took Mario over VY and Bush, would be a huge draft shocker to see them grab Watkins lol.
Honestly though, from what ive seen and read about Mettenberger, he seems like the best value at the QB spot. Take Clowney and be done Texans.
Revisiting this in 2021: This draft class was absolutely stacked, but as it turns out Aaron Donald was the best player in this draft class by a mile. Oh the power of hindsight…