Who will the Texans take with the first pick in the 2014 NFL Draft? It's the million-dollar question that everyone is asking. Just two days in the offseason, Draft Day speculation has already begun.
Former NFL scout Russ Lande reported Tuesday that the Texans were leaning towards two quarterbacks, Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles.
"According to trusted sources, the Texans are initially leaning towards taking either Blake Bortles or Johnny Manziel with the top pick," Lande wrote. "Although Manziel would obviously be the choice of owner Bob McNair, O'Brien is not sold that Manziel possesses the work ethic and intangibles necessary to be the face of a franchise."
Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported that the Texans may be using their first pick as trade bait. According to La Canfora, Houston is positioning itself to trade down and acquire more picks in the first round. All the talk about quarterbacks could be a strategic move.
"I found it interesting that all of a sudden out of Houston, all you kept hearing recently now is 'We want a quarterback,'" La Canfora said. "Well, I don't know that they are locked into a quarterback. They want everyone who needs a quarterback to know all roads to a quarterback go through us."
La Canfora goes on to say that if the Texans do trade their No. 1 overall pick, they would still be looking for a quarterback but not in the first round.
"If they could trade back two or three spots, still get a Clowney, pick up more picks and then in the second round, the guy I think they really like is the kid in Eastern Illinois, Jimmy Garoppolo," La Canfora said. "If you are looking for a Tom Brady-type of quarterback and you study all these kids and you're Bill O'Brien and you're a quarterback guru, I don't know that you don't say to your owner, 'We trade down, we get the best defensive player in the draft. I get our quarterback in the second round and we pick up picks in the process.'"
Whether they trade down or keep the first-overall pick, the Texans have an abundance of options and have only just begun the evaluation process.
The 2014 NFL Draft will begin with the first-round selections on Thursday, May 8, followed by the second and third rounds on May 9, and Rounds 4-7 on May 10.
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