Trade Down To 19 Still A Possibility For The Texans?

Per Mike Florio, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have decided that Kansas State QB Josh Freeman is who they want in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.  The Bucs realize that the New York Jets may very well be targeting Freeman with the 17th overall pick, and therefore the Bucs would have to trade up to get him.

Why would Tampa Bay be willing to draft Josh Freeman after recently signing veteran QB Byron Leftwich?  Apparently Leftwich did not receive a signing bonus, which would allow the Bucs to cut Lord Byron without ever paying him a dime.  If anyone has a good feeling of what kind of QB Freeman is going to be, it's new Tampa head coach Raheem Morris, who was Kansas State's defensive coodinator in 2006.

So we should feel good about this, right?  Maybe.  One notion that I think has escaped us as well as the media is that New Orleans has a HUGE shortage of draft picks, and will probably try to trade down as well.  Usually it would make more sense financially to trade with 15 instead of 14 if all you want to do is get ahead of 17, but what happens if New Orleans is so desperate to trade down that they undercut our offer?

It really depends on who the Saints like and if they believe that player is worth sacrificing a third round draft pick.  If they really love Malcolm Jenkins above all other corners, it is possible that they will stay put because of the drop off after him at the position.  If they want a LB and think there isn't much difference between Clay Mathews, Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga, all of whom they have shown interest in, than they will likely try to move.

In less than 24 hours, we will have our answer.  Man, it felt good to write that.