The clock is ticking for the Houston Texans. The team is officially on the clock with the No. 1 overall draft and has three months to determine how to best use it. New head coach Bill O'Brien has already begun work evaluating all options from drafting a rookie quarterback, trading the pick or acquiring a free agent to take over the starting spot. The Texans appear set on using the pick, but the player being targeted might surprise some.
The 2014 NFL Draft is loaded with quarterback talent throughout every round. The Texans need a quarterback, plain and simple. Most expect Matt Schaub to either return as a backup option or not return at all. The same fate could be said for Case Keenum and TJ Yates. All three quarterbacks saw time under center in 2013 and no one panned out as the answer to the Texans' problems.
Texans beat writer Brent Sobleski reports the Texans are leaning towards drafting a rookie quarterback No. 1 overall. O'Brien is anxious to bring in his own and work on developing him into a mirror image of someone like Tom Brady. While Houston fans are crying out for Johnny Manziel to be drafted first, the Texans are liking what they see in former University of Central Florida star, Blake Bortles.
"Blake is a good-sized guy. He's an athletic guy for his size. He's an accurate passer. The guys who coached him at Central Florida think highly of him as a young man who really studies the game. He works hard at the game," O'Brien said, via the Houston Chronicle.
O'Brien could be interested in Bortles because he knows where the quarterback comes from. Bortles played under head coach George O'Leary. O'Brien served as an assistant coach under O'Leary for eight seasons at Georgia Tech. He is well-aware of the type of coaching the quarterback received and the type of system he played under.
Houston could be looking at Bortles because O'Brien admitted he has seen very little from the other options. The head coach admitted he has only watched two games from Manziel, but referred to the former Heisman winner as a very exciting player with a spark. He later said he has not watched any tape from Teddy Bridgewater.
Do not rule out the Texans trading the pick if the right package is presented. According to the Akron Journal, the Cleveland Browns plan to do whatever it takes to land Manziel. They have two first round picks and could trade up. With three months left until the draft, anything is possible no matter how much O'Brien hypes up the rookies.
