Quote:I don't care about what "draft experts" think and neither do NFL front offices. What Kiper and McShay say almost a year in advance means next to nothing.

 

Besides, there is a world of difference between "consensus No. 1 pick" and "No. 1 lock". The latter is obviously untrue if we're talking about Clowney. Matt Barkley was the consensus No. 1 pick of the 2013 draft in the summer of 2012, but no one would have said he was a lock with a straight face.

 

Andrew Luck was a lock a year in advance. Peyton Manning was a lock a year in advance. I really can't think of any other stone-cold locks in my lifetime.

 

Scouts had Clowney #1 overall, too. Were they right? It doesn't appear so. That doesn't negate that going into last years season, Clowney was on top just about everybody's big board.

 

Your statement of "Clowney didn't have a shot at going #1" is a fallacy. Clowney probably doesn't have a shot at going 1st anymore, I'll agree with that. This wasn't the case 12 months ago, though.

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