Houston Texans: Bill O’Brien Talks Number One Overall Pick And More

Bill O’Brien was at the yearly coaches breakfast in Orlando, Florida and spoke a lot about quarterbacks. About the first overall pick? O’Brien won’t let the cat out of the bag quite yet.

"“All options are open. What is it the end of March? We still have a lot of time. You go back and do re-checks. What fun would it be if you already knew who you were going to pick?”"

O’Brien is considered a quarterbacks guru and was asked tons of questions about the quarterbacks in the draft. However, the Texans do already have three on the roster. With Ryan Fitzpatrick signed and another quarterback likely coming in via the draft, some may think that either T.J. Yates or Case Keenum are on the hot seat. One of them will likely not be on the roster week one but O’Brien plans on bringing them both to training camp. O’Brien was also asked about the quarterbacks in this year’s draft. Though Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, and Blake Bortles are thought to be in the top tier of quarterbacks, O’Brien wants to meet with the second tier of quarterbacks as well.

"“I can see the strengths and weaknesses with every one of these guys. I don’t see where there’s one or two or three guys that are light years ahead of the rest of these guys. (Alabama’s AJ) McCarron and (LSU’s Zach) Mettenberger and Johnny played in the SEC. They won a lot of games. They might have done something right. We’re going to bring some of these guys to Houston to spend a day with them. There are other quarterbacks in the draft. Being a quarterback coach, it’s important to note there are a lot of quarterbacks who are winners and have played well. My opinion is that I see strengths and weaknesses with every one of these guys. I don’t see one, two or three guys who are light years ahead of the rest.”"

The Texans head coach has already visited with Bortles and Bridgewater and he’s ready to meet with Manziel following his Pro Day. O’Brien enjoys watching Manziel play and will have a lot to talk about when meeting him.

"“I enjoy watching him play, Johnny is an exciting guy to watch play.” “If you watch some of his games, obviously, he’s a very exciting player when (he) breaks the pocket and runs. If you watch the Ole Miss game — I think he might have hurt his ankle or something – but he came back and threw from the pocket in that game. I think if you watch him, he’s going to be able to do a lot of different things.” “With a guy like Johnny, you can’t box him into a certain way of playing. He’s been successful since he was probably 4 or 5 years old playing the way he plays. We have a system that’s very adaptable to many different types of quarterbacks. We have move-the-pocket type plays. We have drop-back plays. We have option plays. Nobody has ever seen them because we haven’t had those types of quarterbacks. We did when we coached in college. You can’t force a guy to be something that he isn’t. That player, whoever it is — Johnny or whoever – they have to learn how to play when they get out of the pocket. There’s a technique to sliding.”"

O’Brien was also asked about Jadeveon Clowney and his work ethic.

"“You to find me a guy who plays 90 plays life-on-the-line every game. When the game is on the line, he plays hard. He’s an explosive player. He’s a productive player. He’s an instinctive player. I think it’s been blown out of proportion. At the same time, we have to get to know him and keep getting to know him.”"

Here are some tweets from Patrick D. Starr (StateOfTheTexans) regarding Derek Carr.

Well there you have it. We may hear some more things from O’Brien in the next few months but this is likely the most we’ll hear form him regarding these prospects for the foreseeable future. What do you think Texans fans? Did he hint one way or another? Quarterback at number one or later on in the draft? Sound off in the comments below. Follow House Of Houston On Twitter – @HouseOfHouston Follow Yoni Pollak On Twitter –  @YoniPollak To Like House Of Houston On Facebook – Click Here