Phil Simms said it best on CBS Sports. Even if Jadeveon Clowney turns into a bust he's still going to be pretty good and make a few pro bowls. That's how freakishly good he actually is. Worst case scenario is you still envision a pretty damn good player in the NFL.

At best is he'll become a future Hall of Famer and in the mold of a Lawrence Taylor or Julius Peppers type of player. Either way it's worth the risk to find out. Especially when all reports indicate that the Texans haven't fallen in love with any one quarterback at the top of the draft. Bill O'Brien likes some of the quarterbacks that are rated in the second and third round in this draft.

The only question to me is do they actually draft Khalil Mack or trade down? I just don't see the point in doing that. What's the point of not drafting the best player in this draft? The player almost every team rates at the top of their draft board? Is that our reward for losing 14 games in a row in 2013? Just so we can "not draft" Jadeveon Clowney? I would feel like I wasted the past year with this team. Enduring all of that heartache for nothing.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on May 5 2014 11:58am

I agree. And yes, I was a Houston Oilers fan. I became a hardcore Dallas Cowboys fan when Houston had no NFL team from 1997 to 2001. For five seasons.

That makes sense I figured it was the Oilers, but not sure if you followed them still (Titans) or switched to an in state team.

The Houston Texans are going to open their first off-season mini camp in two hours. The first NFL team to do so.
Two nights until we're on the clock. I'm hearing it's a coin flip between Jadeveon Clowney and Khalil Mack. We'll see...
Looks like Johnny Manziel is no longer in the conversation. The Texans will draft a QB at pick #33 barring a trade.

If Bill O'Brien has the final say then Jadeveon Clowney is going to be the number one pick.
He likes a lot of quarterbacks who are rated as second and third-round picks in this draft.
If GM Rick Smith had his say then there is no question that Khalil Mack would be the choice.

NFL Insiders on ESPN just started. They're showing the Houston Texans at their voluntary mini camp today.
They also mentioned that Jadeveon Clowney spoke to Texans GM Rick Smith two or three times last week.
Andre Johnson didn't participate in today's workout but it's nice to see Brian Cushing and J.J. Watt out there.

Bill O’Brien was pleased with what he saw during the Texans voluntary mini camp on Tuesday.



Romeo Crennel instructs his defensive players during drills.



Ryan Fitzpatrick takes a snap with the first-team offense.

It's sort of ridiculous how mini camp is already going on and we still haven't had the draft yet. The NFL needs to change its off-season schedule. It would benefit the rookies to be in camp. I know it's just an early voluntary mini camp but it still helps the players, especially any new faces, to familiarize themselves with the team.

Two more nights away! Let's just start the draft already.

teams with new head coaches get to start their mini camps sooner iirc

The Texans have been keeping all of their options open and even talking about trading the first overall pick for weeks and months. Finally tomorrow night they'll be on the clock. They can't do much more posturing or sending out smokescreens. It's time to end the suspense and move ahead with the franchise.

There's no room to go but up following a miserable 2-14 season. If we can just stomach another day of rumors and mock drafts we'll finally have weathered the countless months of speculation. Several players on our defense want Jadeveon Clowney with the first overall pick, especially his good friend and former teammate from South Carolina, safety D.J. Swearinger.

The NFL Network just showed an interview with outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus. He doesn't seem to mind whether the Texans draft Jadeveon Clowney or Khalil Mack. He mentioned that both of them would be a great addition and asset to the defense. Mike Vrabel looked intense out there coaching yesterday and it was only the first day of voluntary mini camp. I like the way he grabbed Brooks Reed and was teaching him how to square up against the chest and shed blockers.

Mike Vrabel is going to be such a huge strength to the team coaching up the linebackers. We already have the best defensive lines coach in the NFL, Bill Kollar. It's almost like a dream team coaching staff that Romeo Crennel has at his disposal. I'm confident they can get the best out of every young player, especially one with as much physical tools like Jadeveon Clowney or Khalil Mack have. We can't go wrong drafting either player with the first overall pick, IMO.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on May 7 2014 04:57am

So many picks to use. I hope we end up drafting at least five or six productive starters from this draft.

Round 1, Pick 1 (1)

Round 2, Pick 1 (33)

Round 3, Pick 1 (65)

Round 4, Pick 1 (101)

Round 4, Pick 35 (135) [Compensatory]

Round 5, Pick 1 (141)

Round 6, Pick 1 (177)

Round 6, Pick 5 (181) [Acquired from Oakland Raiders for Matt Schaub]

Round 6, Pick 35 (211) [Compensatory]

Round 7, Pick 1 (216)

Round 7, Pick 41 (256) [Compensatory, "Mr. Irrelevant"]