The Houston Texans had a decision to make with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. It was nearly universal that the Texans should take South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and while the defensive system may not be perfect, Houston went ahead and took Clowney to begin the draft. It was a pick that the Texans had to make no matter what considering how good Clowney is.
Clowney is a once in a generation defensive player. He could be the next Lawrence Taylor or Reggie Wayne coming from the edge and Houston had to do something to get better after an awful 2013 season. They could have decided to trade down to go with Johnny Manziel but obviously, the Texans have decided that they are going to go with Case Keenum at quarterback or pick someone else in the later rounds. Clowney goes right into a defense with J.J. Watt on the other side and may not have the pressure to put up 10-15 sacks in his first season with Watt’s play on the other side of the line.
Houston can use Clowney in a variety of different ways and move him around to cause chaos on opposing offenses. This is a player that may have not had his best season in 2013 at South Carolina especially when it looked like he could have been the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft. The Texans are going to see a much different Clowney than what was seen on film last season.
The pick was the right one to make and Houston is well on their way to going from worst to first in the AFC South in 2014. It may not happen considering how good Indianapolis is with Andrew Luck but the Texans now have a second weapon that can go after Luck twice a season and are going to give the Colts a run for their money. The next step for Houston is finding a quarterback later on in the draft. Keenum isn’t likely to instill a lot of confidence in the fan base after he had a rough season in 2013. It could be all up to the defense with Clowney and Watt to carry the Texans in 2014 but they are definitely a better team today than they were yesterday.