On This Date In Sports History: Texans Draft Jadeveon Clowney

By Jordan Long

The 2013 Houston Texans had one of their worst seasons on record.  They won their first two games of the season but dropped the next 14, ending 2-14.  On December 6th, 2013, Houston owner Bob McNair decided to fire Head Coach Gary Kubiak.  At the time the Texans were 2-11.  With that, the Texans owned the #1 pick in the NFL draft which occurred on this date in 2014.

                The Texans had many options to improve the team.  They could go offense and select an offensive tackle.  Houston had a quarterback in Matt Schaub, but he was sacked 21 times.  The top tackle in the draft was Greg Robinson.  Another tackle who might have been considered was Jake Matthews.

                The Texans could have selected a wide receiver to add to the core of DeAndre Hopkins and Andre Johnson.  The two names that stick out are Mike Evans and Odell Beckham Junior. 

                If they wanted to go defense, they had plenty of choices.  These included linebackers Khalil Mack and Anthony Barr, cornerbacks Justin Gilbert and Will Fuller, and defensive linemen Jadeveon Clowney and Aaron Donald.  There were so many names so it would be difficult for them to screw up the 1^st pick.  In the end, they went with Jadeveon Clowney.

                Clowney attended the University of South Carolina.  There he proved to be one of the top defensive players in college football.  In Clowney’s 3 years in college, he totaled 24 sacks.  He disrupted the running game and tackled the running backs behind the line of scrimmage, totaling 47 tackles for a loss.  The Texans felt he was a can’t miss pick at the #1 spot.  He was expected to help J.J. Watt put pressure on the quarterbacks.  These could be sacks and overthrows.

                 Clowney spent 5 years in Houston before heading to Seattle last season.  Clowney had 29 sacks with the Texans and 71 tackles for a loss.  The Texans made the playoff 3 times with him but couldn’t advance past the divisional round.

                Clowney is currently a free agent looking for a team.  He is a boost to any franchise’s defense.  He wouldn’t have the opportunity to showcase what he can do on the field if he hadn’t been drafted by the Texans #1 overall in the 2014 NFL Draft.