Houston Texans Combine Recap
By Joey Buchta
Feb 23, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Eastern Illinois quarterback James Garoppolo (FL), Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron (L), Louisville Cardinals quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (R), and Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel (FR) look on during the 2014 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
There is nothing more over hyped than the NFL Combine this time of year. If you are the Houston Texans, you love every bit of it.
The Texans remain in the driver’s seat, which is a great place to be. They get their choice of any of these freakishly good workout warriors.
The even more popular opinion is that the hype could lead to another franchise offering a mega deal to trade up and allow the Texans to get more draft picks. The more attention-grabbing results, the greater the chance the Texans will be in position to fill additional holes on this team.
Not a lot of bad happens in shorts and shirts for the draft prospects. Things that do are overblown and when you have the number one pick, you want as little bad news as possible.
The GOOD
Before the combine even started the Texans received some great news regarding the expected salary cap increase for 2014. It has since been speculated that the cap could reach $132 million.
What does this mean for the Texans? It is an extra $5-7 million in cap space that could allow them to hold onto someone that they otherwise would have been forced to release such as Danieal Manning or Owen Daniels.
Quarterbacks Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles did nothing to hurt their draft stock.
Manziel’s hand size and 40 time were impressive enough to keep him relevant as a 1st pick candidate. What’s most impressive about his weekend is that it isn’t getting much run.
His 20-yard shuttle and 3-cone drill times were ranked in the top 12 amongst quarterbacks, running backs and receivers. These drills correlate to an athletic quarterback much more than a 40-yard dash does.
Bortles threw well and of course has the prototypical size at 6’5″ 232 lbs. He also ran an impressive 4.93 40 yard dash for a quarterback that big.
Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney stole the show on Monday with his official 4.53 40 yard dash. His athleticism showed that he is more than capable of playing outside linebacker if the Texans choose him.
The BAD
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater did nothing at the combine, eliminating any chance of his stock rising until his March 17th workout. He weighed in at 214 pounds, lighter than some had hoped.
Clowney’s 21 bench press reps were underwhelming considering that he is being touted as the greatest athlete at defensive end since Mario Williams, who did 35 reps in 2006.
The reports of South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier regarding Clowney’s work ethic weren’t exactly glowing either.
The VERDICT
The water is more muddy than ever for the Texans. Their best bet is to let the hype build, sit back, and wait for Cleveland or Oakland to do something senseless. They won’t offer up a deal like Washington did for Robert Griffin III, but maybe something close.
For now we wait…
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