The Houston Texans are coming into the NFL draft this season with an arsenal of picks and needs and a trade with Andre Johnson could come ahead of the event after his discontent last season, while head coach Bill O'Brien is deciding between Khalil Mack and Jadeveon Clowney or whether to take a quarterback with the number 1 pick with names like Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater available.
The Texans have a lot riding on this pick and they have the number 1 selection at the perfect time, as they went 2-14 last season and now they have some major needs to address. Many think the team will look at Blake Bortles or Johnny Manziel with the number one pick after they traded away Matt Schaub to the Oakland Raiders, but the team has not shown anyone their cards and they could as easily pick a QB as they could trade the pick, which has been rumored as well.
The Texans have the chance to completely reshape their team heading into next season and with players like Arian Foster, Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins and JJ Watt on the roster, they have the talent to turn things around from one year to the next. The draft will obviously be shaped at the top at what the Texans do with that number one pick and if they opt to take Mack or Clowney, expect the musical chairs involving quarterbacks to start moving, as at least five of the teams picking in the top 10 have been targeting quarterbacks leading up to the draft.
Before last year Clowney would have been the overwhelming number one pick, but he wasn't allowed to come out last season and now he has had to deal with questions about his work ethic and love of the game. Mack has been quickly moving up draft boards and Mel Kiper thinks that he could sneak into that number one spot if the Houston Texans opt to use the pick on a defensive player. That is no lock, but O'Brien has said that the team will not necessarily take a QB with their top pick, as the draft is very deep this season.
The Texans have some major options later in the draft at the position, as accomplished names like Aaron Murray, AJ McCarron, Zach Mettenberger and Jimmy Garoppolo all will be available. Trading Johnson seems like a crazy prospect, but the team has Hopkins and could add someone in the draft to replace him, as he is now into his 12th year in the league and while he has shown no signs of declining, who knows what can happen in the future. Johnson's value will never be greater than it is now at his age of 32 and he is coming off of two of his best seasons.
Last year with subpar QB play Johnson ended up with 109 catches for 1,407 yards and five touchdowns, while the year before he had 112 catches for nearly 1,600 yards and four scores. The season before that he was injured and played in only seven games and taking that away, he has had at least 100 receptions in four of the last five healthy seasons. Johnson is an All-Pro type player, but after rumors came up last season, the team could try to trade him.
