NFL Mock Draft 2014: Houston Texans Select Teddy Bridgewater

Teddy Bridgewater, QB, University of Louisville

The 2014 NFL draft will start with very mixed reactions which will range from happiness to surprise to anger to plain old piss-tivity! The reasons for the various reactions won't be discussed here, but we will talk about why Teddy Bridgewater is the proper choice for the Houston Texans.

As the 2013 season came to a close for the Texans, the bad taste of a long, losing season sank in and it became time to regroup. With the first pick in the draft in hand, Houston was firmly planted in the driver's seat to begin the turn around. But first, a question needed to be answered - Is Matt Schaub the answer at quarterback for the foreseeable future? On March 21st, the question was answered as Schaub was traded to the Oakland Raiders for a 2014 6th round pick. One day prior, Ryan Fitzpatrick signed a two-year deal to briefly bring the Texans QB count to four along with Case Keenum and T.J. Yates. The signing of Fitzpatrick and trade of Schaub still left a question of who will be the Texans QB going forward.

To answer the question, let's look at why there is no other position of greater need in the south end of the Lone Star state. Defensively, Houston was ranked in the top 10 in total yards (for the record, Houston ranked in the bottom 10 in points per game). While this stat does not tell the whole story, it is an indicator that the team is close to returning to the success of the '11 & '12 seasons if the offense can get going. The team has made a commitment to Arian Foster by allowing bent ate to walk, so the running back position is set for now. The offensive line is strong enough to protect whoever is under center. At wide receiver, Andre Johnson is still productive, though father time is gaining ground on him quickly. Johnson is joined by young guns DeAndre Hopkins and Keshawn Martin, both of whom will have the tools to be play makers in the right offense. This leaves one main area of opportunity for the Boys in Battle Red...

Select Teddy Bridgewater and build around him, period. Most readers will want to know why Teddy should be the choice instead of Johnny Manziel or fast-rising Blake Bortles. A quick look at the tangibles, then intangibles will give a couple of quick reasons. Tangibles, for this situation we'll use stats (physical and accumulated) as a gauge: Bridgewater - 71% completion, 31 TDs vs 4 INTs, Bortles - 67.8% completion, 25 TDs vs 9 INTs, and Manziel 69.9% completion, 37 TDs vs 13 INTs. I take Teddy here because he takes care of the ball and is very efficient (the low INT total will appeal to the Texans fan base after 2013).

Intangibles in this case will be maturity and leadership (or the appearance of it): Bridgewater - not a ripple of bad news around this guy and maturity is evident in his progression as a passer. He reduced his INT total by 1/3 and then ½ from 2011-2013. Yeah, I'd say he's mature! Bortles - a relative unknown, but also appears to be mature. However, his INT total has risen since 2011, tripling from 3 up to 9 in 2013. Again, INTs will leave Texans fans with a bad taste after Schaub. Manziel - Somewhat small body of work on the field, but his off the field antics could cost him a chance at being a top 5 selection. That fact alone makes Johnny Football a no-go!

To sum it up, the Texans must take a QB to move into the future and Teddy Bridgewater is the obvious choice for #1 pick!

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Below are the complete results from our community mock draft.

Catch up with all of the mock draft selections in our 2014 CSC Community Mock Draft Hub.