Jadeveon Clowney mock trades: Cowboys reunion headlines four deals Texans can make before NFL trade deadline

With the NFL trade deadline less than a week away, the hot stove is officially boiling. More and more names are being bandied about with each passing day. Some of them are big and some are smaller, but it seems like things could get pretty wild ahead of Nov. 10.

One name that has been floated in recent days is Houston Texans edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney. ESPN reported earlier this week that the former No. 1 overall pick's name has surfaced in trade discussions. 

The Texans are sitting at 2-3, three full games back of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC South and 2.5 games back of the final wild card spot. Clowney himself has played sparingly, appearing on only 37% of Houston's defensive snaps so far this season. He's also been fairly unproductive, recording just 1.5 sacks, two tackles for loss and four quarterback hits. 

His pressure rate of 13.0%, though, indicates he's been a bit more effective than his counting stats, as he ranks 58th out of 262 players who have rushed the passer at least 50 times so far this season, according to Tru Media. The sample is very small, as Clowney has just 69 pass-rush snaps.

Still, given Clowney's age (33 years old) and relative lack of production, it's hard to see him generating much in the way of a trade return for the Texans. It's most likely that he would net a late-round pick at most, and perhaps only a swap of picks. The Texans sent one of their 2027 seventh-round picks to Cleveland in 2025 and another to Detroit this past offseason in the David Montgomery deal, but have one incoming from the Chargers, so that is the pick we have them sending out in each deal.

As for a few teams that could make sense for Clowney, here's a list. 

San Francisco 49ers

49ers receive: Jadeveon Clowney, 2027 seventh-round pick

Texans receive: 2028 sixth-round pick

The Niners have already given their defensive line a boost by trading for DeForest Buckner, and they should welcome Nick Bosa back into the fold soon, if not this week coming off their bye. But they're still just 21st in the NFL in pressure rate, according to Tru Media, and they have been dealing with injuries along the defensive front all season. Adding another capable rotational player off the edge could give them an extra boost ahead of a potential playoff run. 

Kansas City Chiefs

Chiefs receive: Jadeveon Clowney, 2027 seventh-round pick

Texans receive: 2027 sixth-round pick

The Chiefs have bigger needs, with the most obvious one being wide receiver, but that doesn't mean they can't use at least some help in the pass rush department. George Karlaftis has 34 pressures this season, but R Mason Thomas, Felix Anudike-Uzomah and Ashton Gillotte have combined for only 42, according to Pro Football Focus. Adding another body to the mix could have some merit. The Chiefs have a 2027 sixth-round pick incoming from the 49ers, likely very late in the round, which they can send out here.

Dallas Cowboys

Cowboys receive: Jadeveon Clowney, 2027 seventh-round pick

Texans receive: 2028 sixth-round pick

To be clear, the Cowboys should almost certainly not be buyers ahead of the deadline. They are 3-5 and going nowhere fast. But we know that Jerry Jones doesn't operate that way. He fears irrelevance more than anything else, and the Cowboys are in danger of becoming irrelevant this season. Clowney was in Dallas last year and racked up 8.5 sacks but the team elected not to re-sign him because of scheme fit concerns, but with the pass rush mostly not getting home, perhaps the Cowboys would bring him back. Dallas sends out a 2028 pick here because the 2027 sixth-rounder is headed to Pittsburgh in the Joey Porter Jr. trade.

New York Giants

Giants receive: Jadeveon Clowney, 2027 seventh-round pick

Texans receive: 2027 sixth-round pick

The Giants are in first place in the NFC East and apparently going hunting for all kinds of players at the deadline. With Brian Burns out for the year, the Giants check in 31st in pressure rate, per Tru Media, and they could use some help for Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux coming off the edge. If they allocate more resources to other positions, it could make sense to go for a cheaper option on the defensive front. The Giants have an incoming sixth-round pick in the 2027 draft from the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that's likely to land pretty late in the round.

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