tOfficial "2014 NFL Draft" Thread

[Jakology]

Sure is interesting how at the start of the year, the consensus was that Bridgewater was a great prospect and was going to turn around someone's franchise. Now everyone is beginning to question him. Its strange because he had another great season; 3970 yards, 31 TDs and 4 INTs. I understand the red flag with his size. But everything else looks very polished. I've seen him make every throw with ease. He can move when he has to. Just needs to build his frame.

 

[Clayton]

While true, they have some names on that defense that can play, and I think they can have a bounce back year next year.

Jared Allen will be 32. You don't draft for next year. While they could grab a QB, their defense wasn't that good last year and will only regress

I also still like Bridgewater as a prospect. He is frail but he can bulk out....same as Bradford coming out. Wait, thats not really a ringing recommendation considering his injury issues. Eh..Bridgewater has the most upside even if Bortles looks the part.

 

[Davis_Mike]

The questions about Bridgewater stem from "can he be a vocal leader". That is the only negative I have heard about him. I would take him as the first QB with what we know right now. Bridgewater, Bortles, Carr, & then Manziel. But I think Houston is falling for the trap of the "home town guy" with Manziel.

 

[NinerSickness]

The questions about Bridgewater stem from "can he be a vocal leader". That is the only negative I have heard about him.

What about the fact that he's 170 pounds soaking wet? At 6'3 that's pretty slight. Sounds like RG4 minus the speed to me.

I think you're right that Houston could fall for a trap in Manziel though. If they draft anyone not named Clowney they're morons. Watt & Clowney would be downright terrifying.

 

[Davis_Mike]

Bridgewater is about 190-195. I haven't heard anything negative from all "experts" about anything other than his leadership abilities. I've heard that from multiple "sources".

Personally I would drop back to the #3 pick & grab Clowney if he is still there or the the second best QB. They should be able to get at least a 3rd & 4th from the Jags for the swap.

 

[NinerSickness]

Bridgewater is about 190-195. I haven't heard anything negative from all "experts" about anything other than his leadership abilities. I've heard that from multiple "sources".

Personally I would drop back to the #3 pick & grab Clowney if he is still there or the the second best QB. They should be able to get at least a 3rd & 4th from the Jags for the swap.

The problem with whatever listed weight you see from Bridgewater is that he's probably going to try to get tat number as high as possible (which is quite easy). He'll bulk up for the combine & drink a bunch of water before his weigh-in, and it'll be bogus weight.

If he comes in at 220 then I'll eat my words. I was exaggerating about the 170, but he certainly is a risk of not surviving in the NFL with that lack of size.

That said, he's the best pure passer in the draft. If he & RGIII could somehow be like Bruce Willis from Unbreakable they could both be HOFers. As it stands now they could both wash out.

Anyone who takes a QB over Clowney in this draft is repeating the Texans' screw-up from 2002 when they took David Carr over Julius Peppers.

 

[Jakology]

I'll say this. If Clowney works hard and destroys the combine and his workouts and proves to me that he doesn't have conditioning issues, I'll be on board with you that he is the #1 player in this draft bar none. But at this point, I can't trust him. Now to start another discussion here. The Houston Texans pass rush as it stands: J.J. Watt, Antonio Smith, Brooks Reed, Whitney Mercilus, and Jared Crick. That's already right there with the Seahawks and Lions as the best rotation in football. Where does Clowney fit in with them? Their pass rush is their strongest asset. So is it truly smart to pick Clowney when you could have yourself a franchise QB? Which is their biggest need.

 

[Clayton]

Anyone who takes a QB over Clowney in this draft is repeating the Texans' screw-up from 2002 when they took David Carr over Julius Peppers.

The Texans will make the playoffs if they draft a QB next year. Their oline is much better than when they had David Carr and they have a run game and some good receiving targets

The Texans already have the best defensive player in the NFL and they are picking #1

 

[Jakology]

The Texans will make the playoffs if they draft a QB next year. Their oline is much better than when they had David Carr and they have a run game and some good receiving targets

The Texans already have the best defensive player in the NFL and they are picking #1

The Texans were arguably the best defense in football when the season started, but then the heart went down of course. Cushing is such an amazing player. I hate to see his talent wasted due to injury. If he stays healthy this coming season, they will be a true force again. So yeah, I think they need to draft the QB if they are going to use the pick. Clowney could end up being picked anywhere from 2-6. The Rams have also have a great pass rush though, so he wouldn't fit with them. The Jags, Browns, and Raiders are in need of a QB. So who knows. Atlanta is the one team I see that has a truly glaring need for Clowney.

 

[cdumler7]

My question for the Texans is if none of the quarterbacks really emerge in the upcoming draft as the top guy are they then going to be willing to either wait till their 2nd round pick or maybe try to get back into the late 1st round and pick up maybe that 4th or 5th quarterback? To me if none of these guys really separates from the pack then I would think for them it would be smart to take a guy like Clowney that is actually worthy of the top pick. Like someone else said the idea of Watt and Clowney on the field together could be terrifying for an offense.

 

[Jakology]

My question for the Texans is if none of the quarterbacks really emerge in the upcoming draft as the top guy are they then going to be willing to either wait till their 2nd round pick or maybe try to get back into the late 1st round and pick up maybe that 4th or 5th quarterback? To me if none of these guys really separates from the pack then I would think for them it would be smart to take a guy like Clowney that is actually worthy of the top pick. Like someone else said the idea of Watt and Clowney on the field together could be terrifying for an offense.

Understandable, but again, the Texans already have one of, if not the best pass rush rotation in football. So I don't know if it would be smart to take Clowney. I think as long as the QBs don't suck it up at the combine and workouts, that they will be high picks. Might not be worth the #1 pick, but the need is just too great for Houston. Considering the rest of their team is pretty much built to win now.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

My question for the Texans is if none of the quarterbacks really emerge in the upcoming draft as the top guy are they then going to be willing to either wait till their 2nd round pick or maybe try to get back into the late 1st round and pick up maybe that 4th or 5th quarterback? To me if none of these guys really separates from the pack then I would think for them it would be smart to take a guy like Clowney that is actually worthy of the top pick. Like someone else said the idea of Watt and Clowney on the field together could be terrifying for an offense.

I think HOU has to settle the QB position and imo if you have the opportunity to take the #1 rated player off the board at a need position, you take him...looking at the big board ratings, I think Bridgewater is high enough that you can justify taking him #1 overall but also realize he's not Andrew Luck. Bortles would be a slightly bigger reach than Bridgewater based on the ratings, but I can see them taking him also.

I might lean towards the QB because we're not dealing with the huge rookie contracts anymore.

Taking Clowney and the 3rd or 5th rated guy @ the top of the 2nd round makes sense if you have a great QB prospect that fits your system...just looking at this draft idk if that guy is there, but we have some time yet to find out.

 

[Midnightangel]

So, who do the Texans pick at #1?

There are two schools of thought on this...

1) They take a QB. Most that believe this think that they'll grab either Manziel or Bridgewater.

2) They grab Clowney.

So if you're the person making that choice, whom do you grab? And if your choice was to grab someone I didn't list - that's cool - tell us whom.

I'm not sure I know which way I'd go, to be honest.

 

[NickVT10]

QB, not sure which one though

 

[Midnightangel]

QB, not sure which one though

I can't argue with that. Some would say that it's their most important need. If you're going that route then, while Manziel is the most hyped, the talking heads believe Bridgewater is the most complete.

 

[cdumler7]

Yeah I guess for me I am just not impressed with the quarterback class. I just don't see much difference between a guy like Bridgewater and say a guy like Carr that might go late 1st early 2nd where there is a huge drop off from a guy like Clowney to say a guy like Steven Tuitt or whatever his name is. Again this is early in the process though so a guy like Bridgewater or Bortles could really separate themselves from the crowd and make it worth taking one of them with the 1st pick.


Now I say all this and am not a big Clowney fan. He has a few too many red flags to be the 1st overall pick for me but I do like what Houston would have around him and I do like the coach they have in making sure Clowney plays up to his potential. He can become one of the top 5 or so players in the NFL as he does have that talent just a matter of the right situation to motivate him to play at that level.

 

[cdumler7]

I would go Clowney honestly. At this point in the process there will be a quarterback available at the top of the 2nd that I don't think there would be as big of a gap between them and the guys picked in the top 5. A guy like Derek Carr makes sense other than the fact that his brother bombed in Houston. Tahj Boyd is another that I could see them liking.


Really at this point in the process it is tough to tell. My guess is one of the quarterbacks begins to separate themselves from the pack a bit and ends up being the pick.

 

[Clayton]

The coach is going to want Bortles
The owner is going to want Manziel
The scouts are going to want Bridgewater

 

[Uhsplit]

If they are unsure which way to go at#1, trade down to #3 and take what they like best.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Bortles put on a show vs Penn St. that O'Brien reportedly remembers well...if his combine performance is very similar to Bridgewater I think Bortles will be the #1 pick.

Manziel did well to shoot up into the top 10 imo...I still view him as a risky 1st rd pick, but I don't see HOU making him #1 overall.

Clowney...if he has a great combine...I think that might make the choice harder, but either way, I think QB is the pick for HOU.

STL on the clock...this is where I think it will get interesting...they know JAX, CLE and OAK, and MIN all wants something other than a OT so Matthews will likely be on the board @ 6 if they swap with ATL.

Will ATL sacrifice a 3rd or 4th rounder to move up to get Clowney?...I don't get the sense they will give up a 3rd, so if STL is insistent on a 3rd I don't think a trade will happen and we'll see HOU take a Bridgewater or Bortles and STL take Matthews. JAX to take the 2nd QB, CLE, 3rd QB...Clowney could fall to ATL...worse case Barr.