We're inching closer and closer to this year's NFL draft, and things are getting more and more interesting now that the NFL combine has come and gone.
The battle for that No. 1 pick will continue in the coming months, and ESPN NFL draft guru Todd McShay has already made a change at the top of his mock draft. In his recent Mock Draft 3.0, McShay now has UCF quarterback Blake Bortles going to the Houston Texans with the first pick. In his last mock draft, McShay had Jadeveon Clowney going to the Texans. Now, he has South Carolina's terrorizing defensive end going second to the St. Louis Rams. While Clowney delivered an impressive 40-yard dash time of 4.47 at the combine, he didn't go through all the drills in Indianapolis, causing some eyes to roll.
But McShay isn't knocking down Clowney, who is still the top-rated overall player on his draft board, because of the combine. No, Clowney moved down a spot because McShay believes Bortles is the top quarterback on the Texans' board, and they desperately need to get a top-flight signal-caller in this draft.
Clowney moving down to No. 2 isn't bad. He'll still make a ton of money, and my guess is he won't drop out of the top five come draft day. He might not have had as dazzling a 2013 season, like he did in his first two years in Columbia, S.C., but there's no doubting Clowney is a certified beast. He was NFL-ready before he took any snaps last season, and you better believe that any drive he might have lost going into his final year on campus will be resurrected by his future NFL coaching staff.
Passing on him early could be a big mistake.
As for the rest of the SEC, McShay has four more SEC players going within the first 10 picks, including a trio of Texas A&M Aggies -- quarterback Johnny Manziel (No. 4, Cleveland Browns), offensive tackle Jake Matthews (No. 9, Buffalo Bills) and wide receiver Mike Evans (No. 10, Detroit Lions).
In all, McShay has nine SEC players going in the first round.
