Jadeveon Clowney Should be a Lock for the Texans at Number One

The Houston Texans have the first pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. The Texans went from being a playoff bound team in 2012 to the worst team in 2013 going 2-14. The Texans have been rewarded for their losing with the number one pick in this year’s draft and they have to take advantage of this opportunity to get better.

There have been multiple names thrown out as to who the Texans will pick with that first pick in the 2014 draft. The popular pick has seemed to be Johnny Manziel the instate quarterback from Texas A&M. There have been many other possible ways to go with this pick for the Texans even the idea of trading the pick has been mentioned.

Even with all these ideas the best pick for the Texans is the defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney from South Carolina. Clowney would have been the likely number one pick if he was eligible to enter the draft in 2013. Here we are in 2014 and after a down season, by his standards and expectations, he has seemed to drop down the list of most valued college players.

Clowney, the 6’6 275 pound lineman, has been criticized for his below average performances the past season, but I feel people need to look at the reasons why. First off, he was getting doubled and even tripled team most of the 2013 season. He entered the season with high expectations and this put opposing teams on high alert and caused them to double him on nearly every position he was on the field for South Carolina.

Clowney in his career at South Carolina had 24 career sacks and nine forced fumbles. He got 21 of those 24 sacks in his first two seasons with the Gamecocks. He didn’t have the reputation he had in 2013 and wasn’t being doubled and tripled team which allowed him to put up monster numbers at the college level.

Clowney will be able to do the same thing in the NFL because every defensive lineman is near the level of Clowney in physical statue. Teams would not be able to key in on just Clowney and this would allow him to cause chaos for opposing team’s offenses. This should be looked at by the Texans and be the lock pick for them with the first pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

If you need any proof at what a great defensive line will do just look at this past year’s Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks used a fast and athletic defensive line to get pressure on the quarterback which allowed the Seattle secondary to become one of the best of all-time. The Texans could do this same thing by drafting Clowney and lining him up on the opposite side of superstar J.J. Watt.

Watt and Clowney would instantly become one of the NFL’s top 5 defensive lineman duos. They would take pressure off of each other and would allow for both to have outstanding seasons and in return provide a winning formula for the Texans. This blueprint was laid out last season by the Seahawks and the Texans have an opportunity to start building something very similar through the draft this year just as the Seahawks did the past few years.

Clowney should be the stone cold lock number one pick for Houston in this year’s draft. His skill level and talent is something we haven’t seen in years at the college level. He would get the Texans back on the winning ways fast just with his presence and skill set alone. Clowney is the best player in this 2014 NFL Draft and should be the pick for Houston if they wish to look back on this year’s draft with positive memories.