Teddy Bridgewater will visit Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars
Teddy Bridgewater speaks to the media. Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
The Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars are the first two teams picking in the 2014 NFL Draft with a significant need for a franchise quarterback, but both teams are expected to wait on a signal-caller until the second round. Much of the smoke has the Texans taking Jadeveon Clowney and pulling their guy later, whereas the Jaguars could take a guy like Khalil Mack third overall before snagging a QB who falls like Derek Carr or a second-tier passer they really like (Jimmy Garoppolo is a name to watch closely).
Teddy Bridgewater is still clearly my top-ranked quarterback in the draft class, and that hasn’t changed. He’s still strongly in play for either team, because he might be too good for them to pass up on him with their top picks in the draft. ESPN NFL Nation’s Tania Ganguli reports that both teams will take another look at him soon, and it looks like he will be working out for both teams next week.
The Texans and Jaguars could land Bridgewater in the second round if they decide to wait on a quarterback, but I think he’ll be gone by then. I mean, it would be difficult to see both the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings passing up on him, and I doubt either team would trade back up into the first round for a QB. Bridgewater would have to be pulled with their original first round picks, and I definitely wouldn’t rule out the Jaguars or Texans taking the polished passer despite the talk of both teams taking a defensive player. A trade down is also a distinct possibility for both AFC South clubs, though the market to trade up seems to be very low.