There has been a lot of buzz as of late about the Houston Texans trading out of the first pick and teams like the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars have been rumored to be the most likely partners. Both teams would likely be moving up to select South Gamecocks’ defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.
According to John McClain of The Houston Chronicle, the Texans would have to be “overwhelmed” to trade down and gives his thoughts on who the Texans would select in either scenario.
I expect Texans to take Clowney or Manziel with first pick or Bortles or Mack if they trade down. They must b overwhelmed 2 trade down.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) April 25, 2014
Targeting Clowney with the top pick and then Mack with a slightly lower pick makes sense. They can either get the draft’s best pass rushing prospect or get the second-best pass rushing prospect and acquire more assets and build better depth.
The Texans are expected to take a quarterback at some point, but several reports have made it seem less and less likely it will happen in the first round.