The Houston Texans are scheduled to host pre-draft visits next week for quarterbacks Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles. A growing number of NFL experts believe the Texans will use their No. 1 pick of the 2014 NFL draft on either Manziel or Bortles.
Bortles is slated to visit the Texans on April 15 and 16, and Manziel is slated to visit on April 21 and 22, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Although defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is the best all-around athlete in the draft class, there is a growing number of NFL experts who believe Houston will draft a quarterback.
Texans coach Bill O'Brien was rumored to prefer drafting Bortles, and at least three experts project the former UCF signal caller to be wearing a Texans jersey next season. ESPN's Todd McShay and CBS Sports' Rob Rang and Dane Brugler all list Bortles as the top pick in their latest mock drafts.
-"I still have Clowney as the No. 1 player and (Teddy) Bridgewater as the No. 1 QB on my board, but I consider Bortles to be the likeliest choice," McShay wrote in his Mock Draft 3.0. "He has the prototypical size and mental makeup that Houston is looking for, and my guess is that his weakness -- consistency and ball placement -- are things that Texans coach Bill O'Brien thinks he can fix."
-"Bortles wasn't perfect at his Pro Day but he was improved from his Combine throwing session, which optimists will take as a sign that he's only scratching the surface of his ability," Rang wrote on Monday. "Bortles' perceived upside and fit (in) O'Brien's offense make the UCF product the logical fit for Houston."
-"Bortles and Johnny Manziel are the favorites and I'll stick with the Central Florida product," Brugler wrote on Monday.
John McClain, a Texans beat writer for The Chronicle, on Monday projected the Texans to select Manziel.
McClain's previous projection had Bortles going first.
There isn't a clear-cut consensus top pick -- at least three CBS Sports writers see Clowney as the No. 1 pick --, but Houston appears more and more likely to choose a quarterback in May.
