I'm guessing what probably makes it even harder for the Texans to trade the pick and get a haul is that the pick right after them is the prime example of why teams shouldn't trade a ton of picks to move to the top of the draft.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Houston is now locked in on its player and is not expecting a trade, per sources. Texans happy to sit at 1 and take player it wants.</p>— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/statuses/464476203219316736">May 8, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Word! I also believe there is no way the Texans can reasonably afford to keep Clowney and Watt paid in 5 years if Clowney turns out to be all-world. I don't think you draft a guy 1.1 that you can't plan on keeping for 10+ years.
It's one thing to say they aren't trading the pick. It's another thing to say they aren't "expecting" to trade the pick.
Smells like smoke. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Know a good bargaining tactic? Walk away from the table and see if someone chases after you. If they really want it, they will. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Texans&src=hash">#Texans</a></p>— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) <a href="https://twitter.com/taniaganguli/statuses/464478278292881410">May 8, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Exactly what I thought when I saw it. "They all think we're desperate to trade, so we'll have one of our guys call up Schefter and tell him we're staying put."
Not really, I don't know of any Clowney fans that will follow him to another team, but there are tons of Manziel and Bridgewater fans who will follow them. I'm a Clowney fan, but if the Texans botch the draft and select someone else, I'll only see his highlights.
