I agree which is why you draft Clowney. QBs are the riskiest picks and there is no Luck or Manning in this draft. #1.1 Go Clowney. #2.33 Take best DT or CB. #3.65 Take either Murray, McCarron, Mettenberger, whomever they like. #4-7 Take best players available. It's a copy cat league and this was basically the Seahawks formula.
See the thing is I'm not really sure anybody in this draft is a can't miss #1 pick... Trading down might be the best option... Oh crap I'm getting nervous. Texans please don't mess this up!
What if you get mediocre with flashes of brilliance for the first 3, then a dominant season in year 4 and then he is gone for nothing, is that worth #1 overall? I'm not saying that will happen, just that the coaches and GM need to do more due dilligence than mr Bobby here thinks they need to.
If we don't get QB #1 (for me, Manziel or Bridgewater), then I agree, do not waste 2nd round pick on one. I feel there is less of a difference between a 2nd or 3rd round QB than at other positions of need.
Or even a step further, just showing flashes of dominance but never consistently able to do it for his entire contract with the texans. Then you lose him to another team who pays a premium for the elusive potential...sounds familiar eh? I don't know. I always go back to the idea that you want the #1 pick to be a franchise player. Given the above scenario, where you lose him after his first contract, I wouldn't consider that player a franchise player.
For those worried about Clowney's motor, I like this point by Todd McShay: Not everyone can have an athletic freak/motor combo like Watt. There is a reason why many consider Watt a historically good defensive player and perhaps having the best 3 year start to his career than any other player in the history of the NFL. Next to Watt, Clowney would just need to bring the "high impact play" several times a game, whether it be a sack, fumble, batted down passes, etc. He doesn't need to be going 100% all the time like J.J. does and still be an elite defensive player by just his talent alone.
And yet, even in that scenario, the Texans made the best choice. Very few players spend their entire careers with one team, especially non-QBs.
What if Manziel or Bridgewater are top 10 QB's? Did the Texans make the correct choice then? Man, glad I'm not making the decision since there is no clear cut. I'm thinking more along the lines of hoping for a trade down with Cleveland at 4 and 1 of the 3 is available.
That's a good point; however, having a higher motor means there is a larger % of plays in which a high-impact scenario could unfold.
True and how much his motor revs represents the range he will be as an NFL player. Mario Williams had and still has similar criticism about his motor but he's still one of the top defensive linemen in the league. Perhaps I'm overrating Clowney a bit, but to me according to what the scouts are seeing and his ridiculous athleticism and skills, his floor seems like Mario Williams. Wouldn't everyone love to have Mario Williams locked into a rookie contract for four years? Now, is that worth the 1-1 pick especially with a glaring need at QB? I don't know. My gut feeling is that this feels a lot like Carr/Peppers and Williams/Young. I don't envy the Texans front office right now.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-player-interviews/0ap2000000328786/Clowney-to-Ford-I-m-still-better-than-you I think this kid is gonna perform. Sure money is always a motivation, but every player at this point is driven by the chance to hit top dollars... During this interview there was a mention of Bill Kollar our DLine coach, and Jadeveon mentions something kinda cool. He will get all the motivation he needs, and he will get to work with the best in JJ Watt. Houston really will succeed taking this kid, and all this talk is just talk. In the end, he has put himself in a position to be the #1 pick, and he has shown that he can be dominant...Pair that with a guy with a high motor, and the sky is the limit for the Texan DLine... WATT + CLOWN = opposing QBs worst nightmare. Go Texans!
I have zero insight and no sources on this... just a hunch we're going Clowney/Carr. Other than Bortles, Bridgewater and Manziel, does another QB go in the first? If not, and assuming those three do go in round 1, that gives the Texans total control over taking the 4th-best QB with 2:1, which is a very favorable position to be in. And the drop from Bortles/Bridgewater/Manziel to QB4 can't be near as severe as the drop from Clowney to best defensive player player at the top of round 2, right? The NFL is a copycat league and I think we're going to see a lot of teams for defense-first in this draft. (In fact, it wouldn't totally shock me if Bortles fell to us at 2:1.)
It sounds better and better to me each day. I don't really understand the trade down idea. If Clowney is that once every 10 year talent, why would you pass that up if your QB isn't their in this draft? Just doesn't make sense to me.
I wouldn't necessarily be surprised by this either, although there seem to be quite a few teams looking at quarterbacks. I could see anywhere from two to four quarterbacks going in the first round. To me, if the early teams all shy away from quarterbacks (which I have a hard time seeing), the Raiders and Vikings will pounce on two of the three top quarterbcks. Theoretically, then you have Bortles or Manziel falling to the Texans in the second round. I think it would end up being Manziel, as Bortles is supposedly impressing teams left and right. Also, and once again, I'm not a scout, but from looking film, right now, I could justify to myself taking Bridgewater high in the first round. I could not justify taking either of the other two with a top five pick. Unless they start to impress and look really good at their pro days. The other thing, too, is people are saying this might be the deepest draft in the past 30 years. If so, I don't see there being as many trades, because teams will just use their boards to justify not making a move. Why give up an extra pick when the person right behind the one you want to trade up for may still be around when you're picking? The other nice thing about this being a deep draft (with not totally stellar qbs) is that I think that lends itself to teams passing up on reaching for players, thus potentially resulting in one of the quarterbacks falling to us.
True, but even the "right" choice can still be somewhat disappointing. I'm not even concerned about the players entire career, but at least well into their prime. But yeah, it's a tough call either way. I feel like i'm taking crazy pills
If we went Cl0wney/Carr in the first two rounds it would ruffle a lot of feathers among the less knowledgeable Texans fans but it could work out very well IF O'Brien can coach up Carr. Carr is probably the most physically sound QB in the draft although he is a bit small. He makes up for being a little small by having a good mix of speed and athleticism along with an absolute cannon for an arm. If he was 2 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier he'd be the ideal QB prospect. His shortcomings are when it comes to reacting to pressure up the middle. The biggest problem with a Clowney/Carr first two rounds is that he probably won't be there in the second.