honestly, more I think about it, more I love what Houston did. Clowney is a very good player, Pro Bowl worthy caliber, but he is not what I thought he would be. Not even close. I thought he would come in and be another JJ Watt. Especially since he had JJ Watt on the other end of him. Figured he'd have so many 1on1's since Watt is constantly double and triple teamed- that Clowney would just go off. Never happened. He turned into a really good player, not an elite all-time great. Which is what everyone expected considering the hype. This was the highest rated HS recruit ever and one of the most talented players to come into the NFL ever AND he was playing opposite a dominant defensive force like JJ Watt.
Texans are in win now mode. They drafted a tackle in the 1st round and a guard in the 2nd round of this years draft. You plug Tunsil in at LT, move the 1st round rookie Tytus Howard to RT, and plug the 2nd rounder Max Scharping in at guard- now you might have an actual OL to protect Deshaun Watson from getting his brains beat in like they did when he was a rookie and for most of last year.
Clowney was a really good player, but he wasn't taking them anywhere. He wasn't putting them over the top and he wasn't dominating and taking over games the way JJ Watt had done.
They are smartly deciding to put their eggs in the Deshaun Watson basket. They need to get the guy protection- they don't want to wait until it's too late to get an OL to protect him like Indy did with Luck and the guy finally just says F this and retires because his body breaks down.
IF that OL comes together and Will Fuller can stay healthy- oh man look out. Because Watson will produce and so will Hopkins and so will Stills as the #2 or #3 WR. That OL really comes together and Fuller stays healthy- forget about it. Texans will run away with the divison with ease and make a real playoff run.