What Should The Houston Texans Do With The First Pick?

What will the Houston Texans do with the first pick in this year’s NFL Draft? Over the past couple of months this seems to be one of the more discussed topics. Do they draft one of the top quarterbacks available? Do they draft Jadeveon Clowney and pair him with J.J. Watt to form one of the most formidable defensive lines in the league? Or, do they try to find a trade partner and move the first pick to acquire more picks in the draft?

Out of these three situations, there isn’t really one that stands out in a bad way. The National Football League is a quarterback driven league and it is hard to win without a good quarterback. Drafting a quarterback with the first pick would fill the biggest hole that this team has. But again, it is a quarterback league. If the Texans aren’t sold on either Bridgewater, Manziel or Bortles, then drafting Clowney would make sense. Imagine having Watt and Clowney on the same team. The Texans would instantly have one of the most feared pass rush in the entire league. Rushing the passer has definitely turned into one of the more important aspects of having a successful football team. And of course, the Texans, like most teams, have more than one need that they need to fill. Trading the number one pick would give them the ability to fill out a roster that has multiple holes. They could use another offensive lineman, they could use a cornerback and they could use another linebacker.

So what exactly is the best case scenario for this Houston team that struggled so much throughout the 2013/2014’ season? Well, if it were up to me I would draft a quarterback with the first pick. The way I look at the Houston Texans is this: they’re close and loaded with talent, but they don’t have the quarterback to take them to the next level. If you look up and down on this roster, you would really be surprised that they only managed to win two games last season. The Texans remind me a lot of the Minnesota Vikings. Much like the Vikings, the Houston Texans have one of the best running backs in the league. They also have a very good group of wide receivers. Yes, Andre Johnson is still a top receiver in the league and DeAndre Hopkins really came on strong in his rookie season. And just like the Vikings, the Texans have a premiere pass rusher, however, they do have other holes on the defensive side.

Drafting a quarterback could potentially give the Houston Texans one of the best offenses in the league next season. As long as Foster is there and healthy, there will be a lot less pressure put on the young quarterback. It goes hand in hand. Having a good quarterback and a good running back on the same team really relieves a lot of pressure for both players. Sure, they still have some work to do on the defensive side, but remember when the Colts drafted Andrew Luck two years ago? Their roster was completely gutted, but the ability of Luck was good enough to cover up the holes of the Colts. Now, there isn’t a single quarterback in this draft class who is in the same boat as Luck, however, having a good quarterback covers up for a lot of a team’s weaknesses and the Texans are a team that has an abundance of problems.

The next question then would be, which quarterback do they draft? This is a tough one to answer. All of the top three quarterbacks bring something different to the table. Johnny Manziel, a native of Texas would bring tons of energy to this franchise. He could come out and win football games just off of his uniqueness on the field. Blake Bortles is a great quarterback to have if you are looking for a good play action quarterback, which could fit Houston really well. And of course, the most polished passer in this year’s draft is Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater is by far the best out of these three quarterbacks in terms of throwing the ball with great accuracy.

The quarterback that I would go with is Teddy Bridgewater. Throughout his career at Louisville, Bridgewater did nothing but good things. Even though Bridgewater might have had the stats that some thought he would his senior season, he still threw for nearly 4,000 yards, with 31 touchdowns and just four interceptions. All of which were career best. Bridgewater prides himself on his ability to one, throw an accurate ball and two not turn the football over. I think the most remarkable stat of Bridgewater’s senior season was his completion percentage. Hitting 71% of his passes, Bridgewater finished right behind Joe Southwick for second in completion percentage.

The Texans recently brought in Bill O’Brien to be their new head coach. O’Brien, who formerly coached Tom Brady is a real fan of the traditional drop back quarterback. Not only is Bridgewater your traditional quarterback, he also has the ability to move around if he needs to. Coming out of high school his 40 yard dash time was clocked in at 4.6. The only knock on Bridgewater would be that he is just a shy under 200 pounds. He is a thin quarterback that definitely needs to put on some pounds in order to take the hits from these NFL players.

Living in South Florida, I have had the chance to watch Bridgewater grow. Coming out of Miami Northwestern and throughout his collegiate career Bridgewater has always conducted himself in a professional and high manner. His attitude towards the game of football is spectacular. He really has a passion for the game and does whatever it takes to improve not only himself, but his teammates as well. The Texans are in desperate need of a quarterback and I believe that Teddy Bridgewater is the best possible fit for them moving forward.

Thanks for Reading!