The Houston Texans will be the focus of every NFL analyst over the coming months until the NFL Draft. The team currently holds the No. 1 overall draft pick that they can either use or trade. With the top pick comes plenty of pressure. The Texans need a quarterback new head coach Bill O'Brien is fully aware. He just is unsure of what quarterback to take.
ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. released his first highly anticipated mock draft of the year, putting Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel as the top pick. Not too many people would argue with this. Based on need and talent, Manziel is a likely pick for Houston. The former Heisman trophy winner is considered to be college football's most dynamic player, making moves through the air and on the ground. Kiper placed the quarterback over other perceived top pick Teddy Bridgewater or dark horse, Blake Bortles.
O'Brien is not immune to the draft rumors. He hears all of the mock drafts and opinions from NFL Experts, but the new head coach is determined to scout every player himself and he is just getting started on Manziel.
"Johnny's a guy that I've only seen on TV, so I haven't even studied him on tape yet. I think I've only seen him on TV twice. But I think he's a very exciting player, one of the better college players to come along in a long time, and I'm looking forward to studying him as a player," said O'Brien, via ESPN.com.
O'Brien is seeking a quarterback similar to who he worked with during his other stint in the NFL, Tom Brady. He is looking for similar traits to the New England star and is open to getting someone either through the draft or by trade.
"I'd be getting texts, calls from Tom on Wednesday night about the third-down package,'' O'Brien said, via mmqb.com. "Thursday night I'd be hearing from him 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock about red-zone plays. Obviously, he's talented, but Tom never stopped thinking about football. When you coach Tom Brady, you're not coaching with him. You're a partner in the offense with him. That's the ideal for a quarterback - someone who cares about it as much as you do."
South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is certainly the other option if the Texans acquire a quarterback through another former. The defensive standout is the best pick on that side of the ball and Houston owner Bob McNair loves what he sees in Clowney.
"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."
Time will tell who Houston opts to go with. O'Brien says the team is far from making a decision on how to use the pick.
