And lo, so it was written that the chain of events that needed to happen to knock perfect 3-4 outside linebacker, Texas A&M attendee, and John McClain lovechild Von Miller to the Houston Texans wasn’t completely impossible. That it just needed a chance to flourish, and that perhaps it wasn’t far-fetched at all.
Your yay sayer is none other than Yahoo!’s Doug Farrar, who has concocted a scenario where Von Miller drops all the way to No. 11. Lets see some comments, then lets see how this happened:
Yes, the Texans need cornerback help. But Wade Phillips’ version of the 3-4 defense is less hybrid and more purist. Rushers off the edge are at a premium, as Phillips showed us in San Diego with Shawne Merriman(notes) and in Dallas with DeMarcus Ware(notes). Miller is one of the fastest players off the snap in recent years, and he can also stunt inside to provide further issues for enemy quarterbacks. Miller is learning to defend the run and drop back in coverage consistently, which means that his value could grow.
Here’s how this mock goes down:
1) Marcell Dareus
2) Da’Quan Bowers
3) Cam Newton
4) Nick Fairley
5) Blaine Gabbert
6) Patrick Peterson
7) Robert Quinn
8) A.J. Green
9) Prince Amukamara
10) Cameron Jordan
I have seen a lot of mock drafts as I’ve put these things together, but this has to be the most optimistic I’ve ever seen. Perhaps the Cardinals will pass up a premiere pass rusher for a quarterback—they do need both, after all—but I can’t see any chance that the 49ers take Quinn over Miller. It does highlight that only a few things need to go right in the draft process for Miller to wind up in Houston, but I wouldn’t be very confident in it happening.