The Texans recent free agent acquisition of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick may mean that Houston is coming to terms with what direction they may go with their first overall draft pick in May. Bringing along a veteran like Ryan Fitzpatrick should not have been in hopes that he will be the future of that position but merely a backup plan. While it could mean they want some breathing room while waiting until a later round or even another year to pick a guy they fall in love with, I feel as if one of those three guys (Manziel, Bortles, and Bridgewater) will be the pick, more specifically, Blake Bortles.
So much success has been had coming straight out of college for quarterbacks. A special breed of quarterbacks has entered the NFL recently that have started on day one. It hasn’t always been like this. Aaron Rodgers for example was drafted by the Green Bay Packers with the 24th overall pick in the 2005 draft. He sat on the bench behind future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre until 2008 when Favre retired. Kind of.
I know this is a very different scenario. Fitzpatrick is not Brett Favre in the slightest, but I just wanted to prove that quarterbacks don’t HAVE to start immediately like recent history has shown. Fitzpatrick is a solid backup plan who has years of NFL starting experience in his back pocket. Since Bortles may not be ready to start in the NFL on day one, bringing along a proven veteran incase Bortles isn’t ready to start, seems to be a well thought out decision.
Giving Bortles and Ryan Fitzpatrick a chance to battle it out in training camp would bring out the best of both of the quarterbacks while ultimately giving the Texans time to groom Bortles if he doesn’t appear to be ready to start.
Teddy Bridgewater is the most NFL ready quarterback who is capable of starting for a team day one. If the Texans were interested in him, I don’t think they would have brought in someone like Fitzpatrick to compete for the starting job.
Manziel just doesn’t fit what new Head Coach Bill O’Brien is looking for in a player of any position. At Penn State, O’Brien was somewhat of a hard-nosed, my way or the highway type of coach who didn’t deal with off the field issues. Now unless he sees Manziel’s playmaking ability as a once in a lifetime type talent, I think he will avoid Manziel completely.
The other highly predicted option is Jadeveon Clowney. Simply put, Clowney is a beast, and some say too talented to pass up. On the other hand, if there is a quarterback you see as YOUR guy, you take him, no matter who else is on the board. If O’Brien doesn’t like any of the three quarterbacks and elects to wait until later to bring someone in, Clowney should be the pick.
All we can do is make predictions until the pick finally presents itself on May 8th. Right now though, all signs point to Bortles being the first overall pick. The confident, come from behind leader would be a great fit in Bill O’Brien’s offense.