The latest draft rumor regarding the Houston Texans may be very favorable for the St. Louis Rams. According to Peter King, the Texans are considering drafting University of Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack.
"Houston, at No. 1, isn’t set on Jadeveon Clowney. In fact, one FORS (Friend of Rick Smith) told me the Texans general manager likes Khalil Mack over Clowney, and we still don’t know which quarterback Houston would choose if it chooses one first overall. I still think the Texans would go with a more sure thing with the first overall pick than a quarterback—and that sure thing could also be tackle Greg Robinson. But imagine Mack, the outside linebacker from the University of Buffalo, being the first pick in a stacked draft. Wouldn’t that be something—a second straight Mid-American Conference player (Eric Fisher, Central Michigan, by Kansas City) as the top pick in the NFL draft?"
As with most things in life, there are two ways of looking at this news. Let’s look at the positives of this scenario first (the way the Rams benefit the most).
If the Texans do draft Mack at number one overall, Jadeveon Clowney, Johnny Manziel, and Sammy Watkins would all be available! This would be the absolute best draft day situation for the Rams, in terms of their 2nd overall pick. The phones would ring like a telethon in the Rams’ war room.
Clowney is likely to draw trade interest from several teams in the top ten. The Lions, Bucs, and Browns have all been rumored to possibly want to trade up for Watkins. The bounty of picks needed for a team trading up to the number two spot will increase ten-fold if Watkins and Clowney are still on the board when the Rams are on the clock. Imagine the possibilities.
In reality, Mack going number one overall would be an extremely rare selection. In the 84 NFL Drafts that have taken place since 1936, only three linebackers have ever been drafted 1st overall. The last linebacker to accomplish this feat was Aundray Bruce of Auburn, who was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 1988.
On the flip side, if the Texans are dead set on drafting Mack, they may trade back a few spots in order to increase the value of that selection, while accumulating more picks in the process. Whoever pulls the trigger to move up to the top of the draft will more than likely select Clowney. If this unfortunate circumstance comes to pass, the value of our 2nd overall pick lessens tremendously. St. Louis would still be able to select a top tier player or even trade back if they desired, but it would be semi-deflating.
I blame the San Diego Chargers for placing us in this situation. The Washington Redskins stuffed the Chargers on four attempts from the one yard line in their week nine meeting. Had the Chargers won that game, the Rams would be sitting in ideal positioning with the 1st overall pick.
Again, imagine the possibilities.