The day after - Clowney...or should we have traded down?

I don't know how much Smith and Peppers are getting paid now. Smith isn't the player he once was. But when they were both younger _ Carolina kept Smith and let Peppers go. Just like the Texans let Mario go. Because they valued the receivers more.

And as far as the contracts. I know the franchise tag for DE's are a little higher than the WR's but take a look at the contracts for the two. Especially the guaranteed money. And take into account that a great receiver is more than likely subject to stay with their teams longer (like Dre, Fitzgerald, Mega, Smith, etc) and actually get a bigger portion of their overall contract.
http://overthecap.com/top-player-salaries.php?Position=WR
So saying the NFL values DE's more because of the contracts isn't necessarily true.

Also look at how many receivers were drafted in the 1st 3 rounds. It's a passing league and in a passing league you need pass catching playmakers.

On another note. Look at what the 3-4 OLB's make. Clay Matthews is the highest paid one and they don't make as much as 4-3 DE's. Maybe Clowney will fall in that group when he's up for his new contract if the team values him enough to keep him.

 

A lot of people wanted the Texans to trade down but teams were not giving the Texans too much option. If the Texans would have traded down, they most likely would fall out of the top 5 pick and yes they will get an extra 1st round pick or so, they would still lose out on the top players like Robinson, Mack, and Bortles.

I think the Texans weren't able to get the deal they wanted. If they could trade the number 1 overall for the 3rd-5th pick and another 1st round pick then they would most likely make the deal. But anything out of the 5th pick is a no go. Washington gave up so much for the 2nd overall pick so I think the Texans wanted something similar of that nature.