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Les Snead was the first to announce that his team's draft pick was available for the right price. It didn't take long for the Houston Texans, once they found their new head coach, to do the same. With the top pick now up for sale, that could make it harder for Snead to deal the second overall pick.
Texans owner Bob McNair said Houston is willing to trade No. 1 overall pick so it can land another QB and a defensive player as well.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 3, 2014
The Rams' 2012 deal with Washington has to be the envy of every team hell bent on making a quick turnaround, and the Texans are in a very good position to do that. But they need a quarterback, the most essential piece of the puzzle for every NFL team. So why give up the guaranteed shot at taking Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater?
Houston apparently believes that they can grab another QB in the first round (or later?) while adding another heaping helping of draft picks. You have to wonder if Johnny Manziel would be on their radar, depending on where they traded down to ... if they traded down.
Back to the Rams. There are a handful of teams desperate for a quarterback this year. There's nothing to be had on the free agent market. Jacksonville, Cleveland and others could be willing partners in flipping up to the top spot for Bridgewater.
If the Texans do pull off a deal, it doesn't totally devalue the Rams' second spot. Some team could be lured up there to take another quarterback (Bortles, Manziel, etc) or South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.
Either way, the second pick in this year's draft isn't likely to be as valuable as the second pick in 2012. There's talent here, but not the kind of rare consensus talent like RGIII and Andrew Luck.
We might get a better idea about what Houston wants to do as Bill O'Brien fills out his coaching staff. He's yet to hire an offensive coordinator. Once he does, that might signal what kind of player they want. And that could give us another indication about how much the second pick is worth ... until it all changes again in March ... and again in April ... and then again in May (remember the draft doesn't start until May 8 this year).