Gil Brandt: ‘Good chance’ Houston Texans trade down in prearranged Clowney deal in NFL draft

The Houston Texans are casting a wide net as they have been linked to Jadeveon Clowney, Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles, Khalil Mack and most recently Greg Robinson as the team evaluates who will the team’s first round pick, but NFL media analyst Gil Brandt thinks there’s a ‘good chance’ the Texans trade down.

Brandt references the trade between the San Diego Chargers who drafted Eli Manning first overall for the New York Giants who drafted Phillip Rivers and the two teams eventually swapped signal-callers with the Giants also throwing in future picks to complete the deal.

Clowney has been called the best defensive line prospect since Hall of Famer Bruce Smith and is widely considered the No. 1 prospect in this class by a wide margin, but how he would fit in the Texans defense and how it would impact a J.J. Watt contract extension have been cited as reasons why Houston would pass.

So who would trade up to get Clowney?

How about the Atlanta Falcons who Clowney told Vaughn McClure of ESPN that he hopes the team trades up to draft him and who have a history of trading up in the first round when they famously traded up more than 20 spots to draft Julio Jones with the sixth pick in the 2011 draft.

With the draft two and a half weeks away, the only thing we know for sure is that there is going to be constant speculation and rumors about what the Texans and every other team in the NFL will be doing in the draft.