Texans-Falcons Trade In The Works?

[HPF Bob]

Jadeveon Clowney is spending extended time with the Atlanta Falcons this week, raising the possibility that the Texans and Falcons might work out a trade for the overall number one draft pick.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2014/sto...-falcons-again

On the surface, all parties seem to be agreeable to this with the terms themselves apt to be the main sticking point and whether the Texans might get better offers.

Even though Fanspeak in their simulator often pitches the Falcons sending their first four picks to Houston, I don't think that will be all that likely. I could see Houston getting the first three (1-6, 2-5 and 3-4) or perhaps (1-6, 2-5 and 4-3) or perhaps next year's first thrown in (1-6, 2-5 and Atlanta's #1 in 2015.

I think the Texans would really prefer to take Khalil Mack or Blake Bortles. I don't think Mack will tumble that far but Bortles might and the Texans may be just as happy to have the extra picks and either OLB Anthony Barr or OTs Greg Robinson or Jake Matthews.

If the Texans have six players acceptable to them, I could see them making this trade. If there isn't, however, there may still be one more option: the Eli Manning option. After Manning was taken by San Diego, the Chargers dealt him to the Giants before the first round was over.

Let's say the Texans and Falcons put a deal in place but the Texans will only agree to it if the Falcons have the chance to choose Mack and/or Bortles. In that scenario, the Texans will choose Clowney at 1/1 and wait until the Falcons are on the clock. Then the Falcons will choose, say, Bortles and then both teams will announce they have traded Clowney for Bortles plus the remaining Atlanta picks pre-agreed before the draft began. That way, both teams are ensured of getting what they want and if the Falcons don't have a good choice at #6 then the deal is off and the Texans keep Clowney and the Falcons can make their pick at #6 for themselves.

The only downside to such an arrangement is that if someone else came forward with a better trade, the Texans would likely refuse out of consideration to Atlanta.

I think conditional deals are discussed with teams before the draft routinely but they are rarely revealed to the public because there is no point in upsetting either the fan base or the players with the thought that a certain player doesn't have the full support of their front office. This would be a special case, just like the Manning-Rivers trade, because part of the deal can already be expected to happen.