Houston Texans GM: 'I know who I want' at No. 1 pick

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The 2014 NFL Draft sits one week away and Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith has a big decision to make with the No. 1 pick.


Please, sir, won't you share with the rest of us?

Smith might know whom he wants, but that doesn't mean he will keep the pick.

"Now where the game is played is if there's an opportunity to move and, in this case, obviously to move back if somebody else wants to come up to that first pick," Smith said. "Then you weigh what the opportunities are versus who the individual is that you want to take and what that value is relative to the value that somebody might be offering you."

Plugged-in Texans beat reporter John McClain has linked Houston to both Jadeveon Clowney and Johnny Manziel at No. 1.

On Thursday, McClain said he believes if the Texans keep the pick, it will be Clowney. If they trade the No. 1 pick -- likely not lower than No. 6 overall -- the team would select either Khalil Mack or Blake Bortles (with the assumption that Manziel will be gone if Houston trades down).

It's possible the Texans take Clowney at No. 1, then select a quarterback with their first pick in the second round (similar to how San Diego got both LaDainian Tomlinson at No. 5 and Drew Brees in the 2001 draft).


However, McClain suggested the Texans could trade their second-round selection to gather more picks.

"Texans enter draft with 11 picks," McClain noted on his Twitter feed. "Rick Smith would like to acquire more, especially in the first three rounds."

This train of thought meshes with the idea we've discussed on the "Around The League Podcast": The Texans have more holes to fill than owner Bob McNair admitted back in December.

To fill those holes, the No. 1 pick clearly is on the table. If Smith can't find the right deal in the first round, he could use his second rounder to gain more selections.
 

Elmgrovegnome

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And on the flip side, I just read an article stating that the Texans are the most complete team in the top ten of the draft.
 

Mojo Ram

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And on the flip side, I just read an article stating that the Texans are the most complete team in the top ten of the draft.
Yeah i don't see the Texans needing to acquire more picks. They(along with our Rams and the Falcons) are closer than the the other teams picking in the top 10.
If i'm Houston and Atlanta i'm staying put and selecting a blue chip player at a position of need that fits. Clowney, Mack, Robinson, Matthews.
 

BonifayRam

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And on the flip side, I just read an article stating that the Texans are the most complete team in the top ten of the draft.

That was my way of thinking too. They were a playoff contender in 2011 & 2012??? They had injuries compared to the Rams in 2013. I sure do not see all the holes they claim to have.

Yeah i don't see the Texans needing to acquire more picks. They(along with our Rams and the Falcons) are closer than the the other teams picking in the top 10.
If i'm Houston and Atlanta i'm staying put and selecting a blue chip player at a position of need that fits. Clowney, Mack, Robinson, Matthews.

I would stay put with that first round pick and take the top player period .....then think more on trading that valuable first pick on the second day of the draft.
 

scifiman

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The texans are wanting too much for the pick. Atlanta has many needs and for them to give up that much just for Clowney would be foolish. Texans think they can get rg3 type haul. Not going to happen when that guy has some red flags on him. Atlanta would be smart to pass on this guy because Clowney will cost too much at #1. The real trades will happen probably picks 6 through 20 or so.
 

CGI_Ram

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The texans are wanting too much for the pick. Atlanta has many needs and for them to give up that much just for Clowney would be foolish. Texans think they can get rg3 type haul. Not going to happen when that guy has some red flags on him. Atlanta would be smart to pass on this guy because Clowney will cost too much at #1. The real trades will happen probably picks 6 through 20 or so.

I think you could be right. The Texans probably over value their spot.

The Rams, by comparison, I bet trade down "cheap".
 

BonifayRam

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The texans are wanting too much for the pick. Atlanta has many needs and for them to give up that much just for Clowney would be foolish. Texans think they can get rg3 type haul. Not going to happen when that guy has some red flags on him. Atlanta would be smart to pass on this guy because Clowney will cost too much at #1. The real trades will happen probably picks 6 through 20 or so.

I believe that Snead will get many more trade offers with our 1.13 selection than the 1.2 pick. That's what I look to happen.
 

CGI_Ram

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I believe that Snead will get many more trade offers with our 1.13 selection than the 1.2 pick. That's what I look to happen.

I don't know. A lot depends on Manziel. The hype machine seems to be peaking at the right time.
 

HE WITH HORNS

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The Texans are basically a QB away from being a good team again, might as well get the guy you want, and not mess around with it.
 

scifiman

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The Texans are basically a QB away from being a good team again, might as well get the guy you want, and not mess around with it.
I agree. I guess the toss up is whether they go Manziel or Bortles. I think Manziel because of the huge hype and ticket sales it would bring to Houston.
 

Prime Time

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McNair sheds more light on Texans’ plans
Posted by Mike Florio on May 2, 2014

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It’s becoming more clear that the Texans would like to trade the top pick in the draft to someone who wants defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.

Texans owner Bob McNair addressed the team’s plans on Friday. While intending to say nothing, he said plenty.

“Really at this point we don’t know and we really won’t know until right up at the time we have to make a decision because people are talking to us about the possibility of trading down and it’s a question of what people offer, whether their offer is such that it’s worthwhile to trade down,” McNair told FOX 26 in Houston regarding the team’s plans for the pick.

The more McNair talked, the more obvious it became that the plan is to trade the ability to select Clowney for the chance to get a quarterback, plus extra picks — or to take Clowney and then trade him to a team that drafts the player the Texans prefer. Presumably, a quarterback.

“You take a guy like Clowney,” McNair said. “He’s obviously the best player in the draft, but he’s a defensive end. He’s not a quarterback. If he’s a quarterback and the best player it’s easy, but that’s not the case. So can that defensive player have a greater impact on the success of your team than one of these quarterbacks? It’s not a sure thing that he is. . . . If somebody wants you to drop down and they give you two or three more picks that would let you get two or three more quality players, are you a stronger team dropping down a little bit, getting these additional picks and getting more depth?”

Even if the Texans trade down to get a quarterback, McNair has concerns.

“You got three quarterbacks and all of them have some holes in their resume,” McNair said. “A quarterback that goes out and performs for you and is a franchise quarterback is more valuable than a player playing another position, but there’s a lot more risk there. It’s a more difficult position to play and there are lot more failures.

“You drop down and there’s another group close behind, not exactly where they are, and maybe one of those quarterbacks will become better than one of these other three,” McNair said. “There are no slam dunks. There are no Andrew Lucks out there, no Peyton Mannings. If there were it would be an easy decision, but that’s not the case.”

Regardless of how it plays out, McNair remains confident that the Texans will emerge from the three-day player-acquisition exercise in much better shape.

“I think that we’re going to greatly strengthen our team as a result of the draft,” McNair said. “We’ve got 11 picks now in the draft and it’s a deep draft. So we’re going to get some good players regardless as to what we do. If we trade down and pick up two or three more players, we’d have 13 or 14 [draft picks]. So you’re going to see some significant strengthening of our team as a result of this draft.”

How much stronger depends on whether the Texans make the right move with the first No. 1 overall pick they’ve earned in eight years.
 

A55VA6

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I'd be shocked if Manziel didn't go in the top 10. But I do feel like every team in the top 5 could all not draft a QB with their picks depending on if the team in front of them selects their #1 guy.

In regards to the 1st overall pick, I think Mack is a better fit for Houston than Clowney is, but who knows what the Texans want. I'm curious though, if Clowney is there at #2.. what kind of trade offer would make the Rams pass on Clowney? How much would we get? How far back would we drop? I think if he's on the board, you take him unless a team seriously offers you another RG3 trade.
 

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I think if he's on the board, you take him unless a team seriously offers you another RG3 trade.

Pretty certain that won't happen this time. The RG3 bonanza was a perfect storm that comes along every 20 years or so, if that. I would really prefer that the Rams keep their picks at #2 and #13 and get the BPA available at those spots. But then again what do I know, Snead and Fisher stopped taking my calls long ago.