Rick Smith says his draft board is already set. Bob McNair says the Texans still aren't sure. Who do you believe? One thing for certain is that McNair is sticking his nose in public comments regarding the draft as he has never done before. You don't suppose the boss has got Smith on a short leash now that Kubiak has been dismissed and is becoming more involved than in the past with personnel decisions?

I do think Mack probably fits the Texans 3-4 better than Clowney although, if Mario Williams can become a 3-4 OLB, certainly Clowney could. I would not be surprised if the Texans have two trade offers on the table and are waiting to see if either one sweetens the pot at the last minute for fear of missing out. One of those is almost certainly the Falcons and the other, I suspect, could be the always-baffling Raiders at #5. I have a hard time believing Houston would trade all the way down to Minnesota (#8) or the Bills (#9).

Other than Jake Matthews, Mack might be the least likely to bust as the #1 pick so there is some sense there. I still can't believe Manziel is being discussed other than for PR value of all the Aggie fans who are interested.

Charley Casserley has said the Texans did not get a single offer for their 1.1 in either the 2002 or 2006 Draft, so based upon that disclosure and even though it's now a less punitive CBA for rookies picked at the top of the Board than in past years, I'm still expecting the Texans to again use their 1.1 this year themselves. In the unlikely circumstances that they do agree to a trade, it will only be because they accept far less in exchange for their 1.1 than most everybody thinks it's worth.

But we have known Casserly to be self-serving before. Not sure there was really no offers or if it is his way of excusing himself for selecting Carr.

My gut says that there will be no trade before the draft and they'll take Clowney. The Texans will require more than anyone is willing to give to trade out of the No. 1 pick without knowing who is still on the board. However, their asking price may go down once the draft starts and they who's there. So, if say Mack or Manziel is there at No. 6, they might be willing to take less in return from Atlanta to pull the trigger. We'll know soon.

Totally agree with this. If a great offer is not there before the draft starts, they'll take Clowney and try to move him as the draft progresses. It's more difficult for the receiving team to do this sort of deal because of the draft pick and salary slotting, but the Manning/River trade shows it can be done and it should be slightly easier now that it's not such a massive financial investment a the top of the draft.

That's what the man said in an interview within the last couple weeks with a local radio station (610), and he didn't stutter. That's all I know, that's all I got on the subject.

I agree with this post

Metzenberger will be there in the second round after flunking the drug test at the combine. And the third round. And maybe the fourth round.

I'd like to see them get a trade-down from 1.1 but it might not happen. Might just be too much for a team to give up to trade-up. OTOH, Rick Smith mentioned on the radio the other day that pick 2.1 might have lots more interest..... Teams have all night/all day to think about it - players they'd like to have that didn't go in round 1. It's a valuable pick to own strategy-wise and I kinda hope they don't use it until Day 2, i.e. get more picks and/or a next year 1st rounder.....

2.5 days to go...

Especially if they come out of the first round with a QB and many of the other teams who are rumored to be eyeing QBs (Rams, Jags, Browns, Vikings, etc.) had gone another way, setting up a potential run at the top of the second round.

I'd still be hesitant to give it up for a future pick, given the supposed depth of this class.

Mettenberger’s test didn’t show any drugs, but it was so diluted that it was treated as a positive test. It will be up to each team to decide whether they buy his story that he’d been chugging water to deal with cramping from his surgery and not trying to water down his pee to avoid a positive test.

Possibly the bigger character issue with Mettenberger is that as a freshman at Georgia he plead guilty to misdemeanor sexual battery for grabbing a woman in a bar. He seems to have stayed out of trouble since then (despite his apparent Ozarka habit), but I can’t imagine McNair and some other owners would be too excited about making a convicted sex criminal the potential face of the franchise.

Especially after the disastrous results they had with last years 3rd pick out of LSU.

I didnt see sex criminal in any writeups. I found 18 year old drunk and disorderly conduct during spring break. 2k fine with 40 hours community service does not equate to what Ben Rothelsberger did same week.

I'd have to check carefully but on surface innuendo and rumors don't seem to fit actual person.

Certainly last year draftee from LSU should not affect analysis this year. No guilt by association.

I am most anxious to see whether Kubiak was in charge of that mess or if we're in for more of the same this year. I'm not a big fan of Smith's but my guess is that he took a back seat on draft day.

We may discover that that was a good thing.

If the Texans don't draft a QB with their 1rst RD pick, and depending on which QBs fall, there could be a mad rush by some teams to trade back into the 1rst RD over top of the Texans 2.1 pick. I could see a lot of those teams at the backend (Seattle, for sure) willing to trade back if it's not too far of a drop. In fact, I'll predict now that someone makes a deal with SEA despite the QBs on the board.

Not that this means anything, but I saw one mock that had Bortles dropping and the Texans traded up with the Pats at 1.29 to get him. I could even see a team jumping CLE at 1.26 and trading with SD for 1.25 depending on who's there.

The way it is now if a guy touchs a chic's azz they write him up as a sex offender. I'm not saying that's OK, I'm not saying it's a case of boyz being boyz, but they are almost certainly not a pediphile which is what it can sound like. Atleast let's hope not.

The signing of FA Reed was a big mistake, but the Montgomery pick was a total head-scratcher. That was so uncharacteristic of the Texans, I've always thought that move was based on a "hunch" by Wade. Have no way of knowing though ?

Tweets this morning. No way ATL gives up THAT much. I'd take #6, #37 and a 2015 #1.

Evan Silva ‏@evansilva · 7m
More Werder: "Word on the street" is #Texans asking #Falcons for RG3-like haul to get from 6 to 1. (That was 3 1st-rounders & 2nd-rounder.)

Evan Silva ‏@evansilva · 7m
ESPN's Ed Werder on SportsCenter: "The dialogue between #Texans, #Falcons has been legitimate & continues as we speak."

If those reports are legit, I can't understand why the Texans think they can get so much for a non-QB, unless they value Clowney a lot more than I think they do
and would prefer to keep him unless they can get a "king's ransom" for him ?

Silva or Werder's source has to be on the Falcons (or possibly Clowney's agent but unlikely). The idea is to overinflate the Texans' demand to make them seem like the unreasonable ones if the deal falls through. Or, perhaps, if the Falcons agree to a deal, they can make their fan base think they got a better deal than the one the Texans wanted so it seems like a bargain instead of a screwing.

I think Texans want four things in return: 1st and 2nd this year are requirements, 3rd and/or 4th this year plus 1st or 2nd in 2015. On the Falcons' side, would 1, 2, 4 and a 2nd next year be all that onerous?

If I am the Texans, I'd accept 1, 2, 3, 4 or 1, 2, 3/4 plus a 1/2 next year. How much did they give up to get Julio Jones? Why should Clowney be any less?

Did you see the NFL Nation blog mock on ESPN.com? Texans traded down to Buffalo at #9 in return for Buffalo's 1 and 2 plus a 1 and 3 in 2015 and a 2 in 2016 then somehow magically Bortles in there at #9. Don't think the Texans would do something so foolish or risky if Bortles is their target.