The NFL draft is coming and that means trade rumors are continuing to go around the league and Jadeveon Clowney has been a part of that discussion, as he could be the number one pick in the draft this year and many teams could trade up for him, including names like the Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans, Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins or Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Falcons and Buccaneers have been rumored to be looking to move up, while the Oakland Raiders could also be involved if the Niners want to make a deal. The Texans hold all the cards and some predict that the team could pick Clowney and then trade him, pulling a move like the Giants did when they dealt with the Chargers after they took Philip Rivers. Clowney would have been number one last year and it's very likely he goes at that spot this season.
The Texans are coming into the draft with a number of questions and they need a quarterback, but the front office has said that they are not guaranteed to take one in the top five of the draft. This class is deep and while names like Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater and Derek Carr are available, there are plenty of other names that could be options as well later on. The back end and middle rounds has names like Aaron Murray, Zach Mettenberger, AJ McCarron and David Fales among others and the Texans are one team that could look at those names as better options than the top three players.
The top of the draft has the potential to give teams high impact players and the Texans may see Clowney or Khalil Mack as more valuable than taking the quarterbacks. The MMQB.com reported that many GMs have questions about the QBs and that they are not sure they can be franchise players and that could push some of them farther down in the first round. If those players start to slip, or if somehow Clowney gets past the Jaguars at number three, expect a number of teams to look to trade up, including the Falcons, who reportedly love Clowney and what he can do.
The biggest names in the draft include Bortles and Manziel along with Clowney, while many see Mack, Clowney, Greg Robinson and Sammy Watkins as the only "elite" players in the top 10. Clowney is guaranteed to go in the top 10, while teams like the Browns and Raiders could look to trade out if players they like are taken by the time they pick. The Raiders are in an interesting spot, as they traded back last season and still got the players they wanted and that could happen again, as they come in with a mediocre amount of draft picks.
The 49ers have double digit picks again and everyone thinks they are going to make a move and that it could be for Mike Evans or Sammy Watkins. Jim Harbaugh would love to add another receiver to the mix and a player like Evans, who averaged 20 yards per catch last season, could be perfect for his system. The team ranked near the bottom in passing yards per game last year and adding another wideout with Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree could be huge.
