The NFL draft is now just two weeks away and that means predictions and mock drafts will be coming out on the daily and the latest projections from Mel Kiper and Todd McShay has the ESPN experts making picks for the top 10 and the first two rounds of the draft for players, with names like Jadeveon Clowney, Johnny Manziel, Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Greg Robinson, Khalil Mack and Jake Matthews could go in the first group of selections.
The Houston Texans pick first overall in the draft and they obviously will start things off with that selection and depending on what the team does, it could create a domino effect in the first 10 picks. The consensus has the team picking either Jadeveon Clowney, Khalil Mack or Blake Bortles with the number one pick and while there has been some talk about possibly trading the pick, right now that doesn't seem likely for the Texans.
Houston needs a quarterback after trading away Matt Schaub to the Raiders and they like Bortles because of his size, while Johnny Manziel is obviously an intriguing option as well. Manziel has been criticized by some heading into the draft, but he would be a star in Houston and could help turn around that team, but it's looking more likely that they will pick Mack or Clowney. Mel Kiper put Mack in the first overall pick spot in his latest mock draft, but that could change as the next two weeks unfold, as Clowney is an athletic freak and it almost is crazy to think that a team would pass up on him.
Clowney was considered to be the top overall pick before last season after the amazing year he had in 2012, but he wasn't allowed to come out for the draft and now he likely will be the number one pick. The Texans could pass him up for Mack, but that likely means a team will trade up to get him, as the Falcons and Buccaneers have also shown interest and he could be the pick they want to move up for. The quarterbacks are in an interesting situation, as Manziel, Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater all have high marks from scouts, but front office people are not totally sold on them as franchise players.
According to the latest MMQB column, Peter King wrote that the GMs in the top part of the draft may avoid the quarterbacks and that means they could slip into the top 10-20 picks instead. That would leave names like Clowney, Sammy Watkins and Greg Robinson along with Mack in the top five and if those players get taken, the Raiders may trade out of that number five pick. The Browns need a quarterback and they are interested in Mack, Clowney, Bortles and Robinson, meaning they are guaranteed to get at least one of those names. Running backs may come into play in the second round and names like Carlos Hyde and Andre Williams could be first off the board after very productive seasons.