Having the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft certainly carries a lot of weight. This year the Houston Texans are burdened with the top spot and must decide what direction to take the rebuilding team. Now that they have moved past their head coach search, a decision on what to do with the draft pick is the top priority.
Owner Bob McNair addressed the media after wrapping up their head coaching search with the hire of Bill O'Brien and by the sounds of it, Jadeveon Clowney could be a favorite to be taken No. 1 overall. The Texans have drafted defense first before. Back in 2006, the team took Mario Williams over running back Reggie Bush. McNair compared Clowney to the former Texans' defensive end.
"He's one of these players who's a once-in-every-10 years kind of physical specimen that comes along," McNair said, via Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com. "Mario Williams was that way. I think Clowney is actually a better athlete than Mario. Like many of these players that have great physical attributes, they didn't have to work as hard in junior high school and high school and in college to be a superlative athlete because they have this natural ability. He's not a J.J. Watt. J.J. didn't have that natural ability. He worked. He developed his. I said, 'J.J., I don't know what will happen, but if we get Clowney, we want you to instill in him the same kind of work habits that you have.' He said, 'If he's in the same room with me, then he'll have them.'"
Should NFL experts begin adjusting their draft boards accordingly? Houston needs a quarterback, but they have few options outside of the draft. The Texans have well-established offensive pieces on the roster with wide receiver Andre Johnson and running back Arian Foster. O'Brien has said he wants a quarterback similar to Tom Brady which could mean getting involved in a trade.
Patriots backup Ryan Mallett has spent the past two seasons watching Brady's every move. The perceived talent is wasting away on the bench, leaving plenty of trade speculation around him. O'Brien knows what type of quarterback Mallett is and could make the trade for him while drafting Clowney No. 1 overall.
The Texans could easily just be hyping up Clowney to drive the market. Teddy Bridgewater or Johnny Manziel are also favorites to be taken first, but that would leave the Texans adjusting with a rookie quarterback who may or may not work out once they step onto an NFL field.
