The Texans #1 Draft Pick Thread (2.0)

Clowney's burst off the line might be the best ever off the edge.

That is what seperates him and Mario.

 

Kind of a poor mans Jevon Kearse.

Jevon Kearse
6'4
265 lbs
4.43 40
37 in vertical

Clowney
6'5
266 lbs
4.54 40
37.5 in vertical

 

If he can play like the Freak did when Kearse was a beast, he's worth the first pick. Kearse just had an inexplicable decline.

 

Kearse ended up with several leg and foot injuries throughout the second half of his career that torpedoed his production.

 

I don't buy this at all Willie McGinest played in Crennel's scheme for years at OLB at around 260 which is basically what Clowney weighs.

 

You overhaul your scheme if you have Clowney.

next question

 

I'm here to officially hitch my wagon to Manziel. I think he should be our choice whether we are picking number one, two, four, six, or whatever.

I think our need for quarterback can't be overlooked, and while Clowney's measurables and talent are undeniable, I think he has just as much bust potential as Manziel. It took a long time for me to get to this point. I started the off-season thinking Bridgewater and nothing less. Then, I was swaying towards Clowney. Slowly, but surely, the thought of Manziel has grown on me.

I've acknowledged that he has a lot to work on during this whole off-season. Without a doubt he does. But if you look at his short history in the spotlight (or out of it, if you want to think of it that way), the kid has done nothing but worked on and improved his game. That's the reason I am not worried about the off the field stuff.

If I'm making a potential franchise-altering pick, which is what top overall picks are, I want someone that clearly loves the game of football. Johnny Manziel does. Clowney may, but I haven't seen it. That's also evident by the fact that Clowney himself admitted he relied solely on his athleticism. If he loved the game, he'd have learned some techniques while at a decent SEC school. I think that statement scares me.

I don't know that Manziel will forever change the way the game is played, but I feel as if he will be a good quarterback. He's obviously got the talent, and he's showed over the last few months that he's got some drive, as well. He's a leader. He's fearless. He's exactly what this team needs on offense.

Clowney, on the other hand would be somewhat of a luxury pick. He'd have to be developed at outside linebacker. Playing that position would also lessen the advantage of his athleticism, which is something he admittedly relies almost solely on right now, thus making him something of a project. Also, in the second round, there will be plenty of stand up or project pass rush specialists that we can go after. I'm looking at you, Jeremiah Attaochu. Not to mention, we've spent multiple first round picks on pass rushers recently, and we still have some that haven't reached their potential. It's far less likely we hit on a second round quarterback, although it can be done.

Now, a trade down to the number three or four range to get Manziel is ideal, but if it's not there, it's not there. Realistically, I don't think it will be.

That's why I say we shouldn't overthink this pick. You take Manziel and you don't look back. You don't have to start him from the get go, but you can. You just signed an offensive coach who is supposedly a quarterback guru, so let him do his thing. You give Andre Johnson a fighting chance to get to the playoffs a few more times.


I'm not trying to compare the two players whatsoever, but people were gaga over RG3, when he came out, and I think the two are pretty comparable, when it comes to skill level and potential coming out of college. The only two things RG3 had on Manziel is size and arm. Size is good, but Manziel's obviously got a good enough arm. It's been proven time and time again that you don't need a cannon to win. I'm actually one of the few people that believe a cannon for an arm can be more harmful for a pro prospect than it is good.

Now, I don't know who will be better as a pro between Clowney or Manziel. There is a good chance that Clowney will be. I personally think they will both have pretty good careers, but neither may be the best player in this class. Either way, I think Manziel is without a doubt, absolutely the correct pick for this franchise to make. It would be a huge culmination of the cathartic buildup that this off-season has been. Just something totally different that this franchise has never experienced. Make it happen.




God, that was hard to type. I've never liked the Aggies.

 

I pretty much feel the same way. At first I was all on the bridgewater bandwagon but was underwhelmed by him lately.

The way I see it is this: in 2006, we drafted de mario Williams, and as good as he was, we still couldn't reach the playoffs until his final year which he only played 5 games in.

We have the best defensive player/de (watt) yet as great as he was, we were the worst team in the league. The point I'm making is we can draft clowney but it won't really matter because we don't have a qb, so it's time to go big and draft manziel.

Besides, we all know jj watt is gonna get paid 100 million. Are the texans really gonna tie up all that much money to watt and clowney? We'll be much better off going the Seahawks route and draft quality defensive players later in the draft.

 

This is a very revealing quote from Uncle Bob, probably worth it's own thread.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...wont-repeat-mistakes-we-made-with-david-carr/

 

That's been part of my speculation all along. The mistake was the QB the first time around, the mistake would have been the QB the second time around. I don't think he makes the QB mistake the 3rd time around.

 

That not what McNair was saying, though. He was insisting that the Texans made a mistake by playing Carr to early on in his career, especially since the Texans had such a poor offensive line. He said that they would have to be more cautious with a rookie quarterback to not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Doesn't really reveal anything about Houston's draft plans.

 

I mean, I just can't get behind drafting a QB with the overall top pick if they aren't good enough to play immediately. There isn't any QB like that in this draft and IMO the more important lesson from Carr is to not waste your first pick due to QB desperation. Casserly talked them into getting a QB, just to get a QB because they needed a QB. I doubt Bob falls for that again.

 

This isn't the 1st time McNair has said this. Around the time when they hired the new head coach McNair even said if they draft a quarterback with the #1 pick he probably wouldn't start...

So what if you sit a rookie quarterback on the bench. There's no rule that they can't and that's probably the safer formula to follow. What Luck and RG3 did their rookie seasons is very rare. People can't take that as the norm. Those are the only 2 quarterbacks drafted with top picks that I can think of that lead their team to the playoffs their rookie year in the past 20 plus years. Eli, Rivers, and Big Ben were all drafted in the top 10 and all started their career on the bench.

And with that offensive line they shouldn't start a brand spanking shiny new quarterback anyway.

 

Kinda cushions the blow if they draft Clowney at one and take a clipboard holder in the second.

 

So you're actually in agreement then? He said Clowney would play OLB and be a waste as DE in a 2 gap 3-4. I agree with that statement.

 

I don't think he'd be a waste, but if you aren't moving him around, you aren't getting the most out of him you can get. He's a DE on some snaps, an OLB on others.

 

I feel Clowney will have to add about 20 pounds to be a successful DE in this system. Otherwise he plays OLB. Both of those things minimize his athleticism, which he relies on.

And I still think there's merit to the salary cap situation.



I don't think the Texans are that thrilled with him, but may feel they "have to" take him.

 

Pigeon holing him into just one position would be as foolish as doing so for JJ Watt. Watt doesn't just line up as a DE or as a DT and Clowney shouldn't just line up as an OLB or a DE either. When you have amazing players that have that kind of versatility, you don't take that away from them by forcing them to be only one thing.