Wes Bunting of the National Football Post is the latest connected man to say that there is an actual fire to the smoke of the Texans trade up rumors, as he said on Twitter:
Hearing more and more that the #Texans could be in play to jump into the top-five for Von Miller or Patrick Peterson #NFLDRAFT love it!
Anna-Megan Raley of The Houston Chronicle and CBS Houston also joined the fray, saying that Amobi Okoye and three picks could be packaged to move up to No. 2 overall. Of course, for that to happen, you’d have to ignore the fact that Okoye is actually not eligible to be traded until the lockout ends. Maybe she meant with some sort of gentleman’s agreement?
Finally, what happens if the Texans are stuck at No. 11? Lance Zierlein pontificates that it will likely be a choice between Prince Amukamara and Aldon Smith:
Texans said to be deciding between Quinn, Smith and Amukamara, but Quinn will be gone. Amukamara the safer player. If it is Amukamara, I still expect Texans to try and add a veteran CB and move Quin to safety.
As long as Amukamara doesn’t come as a guaranteed starter, I like that pick much more than I would otherwise. However, look for the Texans to go with Smith in that scenario, in the hopes that they would get more of an immediate contribution from him.