NFL Gets Much-Needed PR Win with J.J. Watt, Texans Landing HBO's 'Hard Knocks'

The image of the NFL is something that really depends on the eye of the beholder, but no matter who is doing the beholding, it's been doused in negative public relations over the past year. 

Domestic violence has (rightfully) become more than a mere offseason footnote. No matter where you stand on the impact of New England's deflation scheme, attempted gamesmanship's major role in the news cycle hurts the brand. The new NFL personal conduct policy has created a ton of questions about how far commissioner Roger Goodell's overreach has gone. Basically put: The more information that comes out, the more transparent every last sad PR attempt looks. 

But with the Houston Texans' officially announcement on Wednesday that they'll represent the NFL on HBO's Hard Knocks, Goodell has been thrown an All-American PR life preserver. His name is J.J. Watt. 

There is perhaps no NFL star who embodies what the NFL wants from its players more than Watt. He's dominant, he's never been linked to anything unseemly and his off-field persona is pristine. He's the country-strong, rough-and-tumble juggernaut who always gives back, always plays hurt and has worked himself to death to bend the league into whatever shape he wants it to be in. 

There's a certain cynicism one must carry as an objective observer of sports. You see the motivations of every individual; you know who is here to collect money and who is here because they truly love the game. Watt is so dominant and gregarious that he has obliterated any reasonable modicum of cynicism.

Having Watt front and center on Hard Knocks allows the NFL to put its best foot forward. The league could not ask for someone who emphasizes how NFL players should act and perform more than Watt. 

Oh, yeah, and there are the other Texans as well. 

This team has plenty of ready-made storylines as it approaches training camp. We'll get to look at how Jadeveon Clowney is recovering from microfracture surgery. Seeing country boy Ben Jones reacclimate to playing center should provide plenty of laughs. America will get to bask in the guarded and subtle humor of head coach Bill O'Brien.

There's even be a quarterback battle in the works, as O'Brien tries to decide whether Ryan Mallett or Brian Hoyer is the right QB at present. 

Bleacher Report's Chris Simms highlighted Watt as a main attraction while previewing some of the storylines he's most excited to see in the following video:

The Texans are, in many ways, a franchise that tries to exemplify off-field excellence as well as on-field success. It's been something of a running gag that you can expect all of their late-round picks to have been team captains with the right intangibles. This is a franchise that goes above and beyond to create an off-field persona that is pro-community and even throws promising young players off the team for a careless mistake or two.

General manager Rick Smith seems excited about the opportunity to showcase this Houston squad, as he noted in a press release on the team's official website:

"

This is an opportunity to provide a behind-the-scenes look at our team as we prepare for the 2015 season. Fans will get a chance to see the great competition that takes place day-in and day-out on the practice field, as well as get to know all the unique personalities on our roster.

"

The Texans' selection to the show will assuredly rile up the section of the "Yeah, but" Internet that wants to talk about what a distraction this will be. If they have a poor season, it could very well be framed that way. 

However, there's not a lot of evidence that doing the show actually hurts teams. And, frankly, the NFL needs a favor from these Texans. 

There were obviously other candidates to do this show, but no other team had the right combination of characters and storylines like Houston. The Texans need to do something that no other team in the league has been able to: put the NFL in a good light. 

And there's no better way to do that than by putting Watt, the role model the NFL wants America to emulate, in the spotlight. 

Rivers McCown is an NFL Analyst for Bleacher Report and the co-host of the Three-Cone Drill podcast. His work has also appeared on Football Outsiders and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @riversmccown.