The moment it was confirmed that the Houston Texans were the winners of the top draft pick, almost everyone assumed they would take former Texas A&M star Johnny Manziel No. 1 overall. The team had traded away veteran Matt Schaub and it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Manziel was their top target. Instead, the Texans drafted defensive end Jadeveon Clowney No. 1, letting Manziel drop to the bottom portion of the first round.
Head coach Bill O'Brien is denying Manziel was ever an option for the team. Houston worked out the Heisman winner and did their homework on him during the NFL scouting combine, but according to the Texans coach, the quarterback simply did not the overall vision for the Houston football team.
"No," O'Brien said, via the Houston Chronicle. "Sorry. We spent a lot of time with Johnny (Manziel) and I had great meetings with him. He is a bright guy and I really enjoyed watching him play in college on film and enjoyed talking with him. We have a vision for our football team and we stuck to that vision. Every decision we made in the draft we felt led to that vision and we'll see if that vision turns out the way we believe it will in whatever, a year, two years, three years. It was what we believed in and we stuck with it and we stayed disciplined in the draft and Johnny's in a great situation in Cleveland."
In the end, the Texans opted to draft Tom Savage instead and put him in a quarterback competition with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick and two young quarterbacks, TJ Yates and Case Keenum. According to quarterback coach George Godsey, the Texans are not holding anything back from Savage despite his rookie status. The team is throwing the entire new offensive system at all players and simply waiting to see who emerges as the best option. Godsey complimented the rookie on his overall football knowledge, noting that he has a promising future with the team.
O'Brien also hinted that someone would be released from the group before training camp. Savage is not an option. Fitzpatrick's contract rules him out. Either Yates or Keenum will be shown the door sooner rather than later. Both quarterbacks have seen time as the starter and displayed their fair share of success and struggles. Neither quarterback will factor into the future of the Texans no matter what.