In less than one week, the Houston Texans will be on the clock hoping to make the correct decision with the first pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. By securing the first selection in the draft, Houston has literally every available option to choose from.
But the dilemma staring the Texans organization in the face is choosing between the best player available or the best quarterback.
Beside defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the only players receiving first-pick publicity from ESPN and other sports media outlets are quarterbacks Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel and Derek Carr. My advice to the Texans is simple: ignore the NFL’s obsession for quarterbacks and take the best player available, Clowney.
It’s no secret the NFL — and the majority of the league’s sponsors — values its quarterbacks more than other positions. Seven of the 10 highest-paid players in the league are quarterbacks, including the top four.
Securing a sound quarterback who can take advantage of the many passing-friendly rules established in recent years has been the target of nearly every franchise. But this overwhelming desire has led to organizations overreaching in recent drafts.
From the NFL’s first draft in 1936 until 2000, only 21 quarterbacks were selected with the top pick. But 10 have been chosen first overall since 2001, and only half are currently with the team that originally drafted them.
The draft’s first overall pick is meant to be spent on a player who will be an instrumental part of the organization for years, perhaps an entire career. Wasting a first round draft choice can set the franchise back for its foreseeable future. Case in point: the 2007 Oakland Raiders.
In 2007, the Raiders were still searching for a replacement for former NFL MVP Rich Gannon, and the organization fell victim to the hype surrounding the big-bodied, historically strong-armed JaMarcus Russell. But Russell never approached the level he was projected to play at, lasting only three seasons with the team and compiling a 7-18 record.
Perhaps the Raiders should have given deeper consideration to drafting wide receiver Calvin Johnson, currently the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league, or running back Adrian Peterson, the only player who isn’t a quarterback to win the league’s regular season MVP since 2007, with the top pick.
The Texans are faced with a similar scenario. Houston must choose between Clowney, who is widely regarded as the best player in this year’s draft, and the crop of quarterbacks that NFL experts can’t separate from one another.
While Clowney is undoubtedly the best player at his position, draft experts are divided about which quarterback should come off the board first. The reason is simple: There isn’t a signal-caller in this year’s draft who is worthy of the first overall pick.
The last quarterback taken No. 1 overall was Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts in 2012, and it was because he was the best player available. Throughout his final season at Stanford, NFL experts and former players continuously hailed Luck as the most NFL-ready draft prospect in years.
Luck has justified the hype through his first two seasons in the NFL. After being drafted to a team that was 2-14 the year before, Luck has led the Colts to two consecutive playoff appearances, a feat not even the great Peyton Manning accomplished when he first joined the franchise in 1998.
But this year’s class of quarterbacks has more question marks than assurances. Manziel, though exciting, can be reckless and doesn’t have the ideal body type NFL teams want in a quarterback. Bortles has the prototypical size and natural abilities, yet experts claim he isn’t nearly as polished as the others. And despite posting impressive statistics, Bridgewater and Carr both played in watered-down conferences.
On the other hand, Clowney has shown through game tape and at the NFL Combine that he’s the most NFL-ready prospect in this year’s draft. The 6-foot-5, 266-pound All-American ran a 4.53 40-yard dash at the combine, fastest among defensive ends. Critics questioned his work ethic and effort during the 2013 season, but his natural abilities have yet to take a hit.
Taking Clowney with the top pick could also produce immediate results for the Texans. He’d likely line up opposite defensive end J. J. Watt, creating a fearsome edge rush teams will have trouble scheming against.
But no opinions matter other than the Texans’ decision makers, and whether they’ll go with logic and select Clowney will be determined May 8. But there’s good news if the Texans select one of this year’s uncertain quarterbacks: They’ll probably have another high draft pick next year to fix their mistake.