Maybe Rick Smith pulls a move similar to what San Diego did with Eli Manning.
Clearly a lot of teams are interested in Clowney. It will come at a cost to get pick 1.1
If their cost isn't met, well, even though they may like Mack, or a QB or ? better, they still draft Clowney.
Some teams may balk at initial price because they may think the Texans need player X, Y or Z rather than Clowney.
If a team wanted Clowney, they would be force to trade with the Texans to get him.
Just a theory I haven't seen mentioned yet.