Let the mock drafts begin.
With the 2013 season officially in the rear view mirror for the Houston Texans, attention now turns to the key personnel and roster decisions to be made before the start of next year. While there is uncertainty surrounding who will lead the Texans as head coach, one thing is for sure.
Houston is on the clock. Unless they trade the pick, on May 8, 2014, the Texans will make the first selection in the NFL Draft.
For the third time in franchise history, Houston finds itself with the top overall choice. Those previous selections, quarterback David Carr and defensive end Mario Williams, both had varying degrees of success during their tenure in the organization.
With that top overall pick comes endless speculation, so be prepared to read and hear the term "mock draft" a ton over the next five months. ESPN draft guru Todd McShay has already released his first “mock”, complete with the Texans taking Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The talented Cardinal signal caller has yet to officially declare himself eligible for the NFL Draft, but his name has been linked to the Texans pick the most at this point.
Throughout the spring, many who cover both the National Football League and college football will weigh in with their opinion. McShay himself released five different versions of his mock draft last year, while two different writers at Sports Illustrated (Don Banks and Chris Burke) published 12 different sets of their predictions. Like I said, it can get crazy.
As the months continue, here at the Texans website we will have a page dedicated to the latest mock draft picks, so fans can keep up and follow what those in the media think the team will do. Will they be right? No one knows.
For most draft prognosticators, a 25 percent success rate is considered a good year. While the top pick in theory is easier (because it is the first one), there have been many surprises across all professional sports over the years. How can we forget ESPN’s Bill Simmons famous reaction to the Cleveland Cavaliers choosing Anthony Bennett in last year’s NBA Draft?
Mock drafts are the NFL's version of college football recruiting rankings, a way fans can dream on the future players they hope join their team next year. For Texans fans in particular, this draft signals a big opportunity to add a premiere player.
With that opportunity comes speculation. Get ready for it.
