The NFL Draft is just over a week away, and the Houston Texans have yet to tip their hand on which player they will take with the No. 1 overall pick, that is if they don't trade it, as some reports have speculated.
What we do know is that the Texans will take a quarterback, according to head coach Bill O'Brien earlier in the offseason, however it is not known if they will do so with the top pick or later in the draft.
Johnny Manziel's name is floating around again, especially if Houston does indeed trade down and the former Aggie is still sitting in the green room at whatever pick the team moves down to.
Of course Jadeveon Clowney is still one of the most popular picks, but the Texans are still seemingly not completely sold on him, so it seems anyways. However, if they do take a chance on Clowney, who is being touted as the most talented athlete in the draft by many, some discussion is that former Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater could still be waiting for his name to be called when the Texans get to make the first pick in the second round of the draft.
Bridgewater's stock has fallen drastically since his reported lackluster pro day, but could be a draft-day steal if he does indeed fall into Houston's lap at the 33rd pick as the draft resumes on Friday.
But why is Bridgewater's draft stock falling so quickly? After being veered as a top overall pick just a couple months ago, he is being seen less and less on first round mock drafts. His 2013 season at Louisville was great after throwing 31 touchdowns with only four interceptions, and his work ethic has never been put in question. Unfortunately for him, it seems to be all stemming from his poor pro day that has lowered his status, where he made the ill-advised decision to throw without gloves as he had done his entire college career. Sure it is a shame that one day seemingly has undone three solid season at Louisville, but pro days are where players should have everything in their favor to succeed, and some scouts and NFL officials believe if someone struggles at a pro day, their chances of success in the NFL drops along with it.
Dropping in the draft is bad news for Bridgewater financially, but the Texans would greatly benefit from getting the opportunity to take a top-tier defensive player, whether it be Clowney or Kahlil Mack, with the No. 1 pick to complement All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt and then getting one of the top-rated quarterbacks in the draft at a better value with the first pick in the second round.
The potential is there for Bridgewater to be great, a bad pro day can't take away from the fact he was a great quarterback for Louisville for three seasons, and if for some reason he does falter under the spotlight of pro football, the Texans won't be too far invested to cut bait after a couple seasons instead of living and dying by a quarterback taken with first-overall pick.
The draft can't be completely predicted, but if the pieces fall where they are being predicted on May 8-10, the football future of Houston is certainly looking brighter.
Follow Shawn Ramsey on Twitter: @ShawnPRamsey
