A great blues player. But you're right, innovation wasn't his forte. SRV wasn't exactly innovative either.
SRV was definately innovative. Playing blues in minor E and minor A family chords, and playing it progressively had not been done before. Hendrix dabbled in it, but SRV cleaned it up and made it an art.
You may be wrong on this.
SRV was a great guitarist but not at all like his brother, who always was interesting and grew as a musician.
Clapton? One should give him props for quitting the Yardbirds, and choosing good people to play with him over the course of his career. As a guitar player, hmmm, he's second-tier.
He seems to be a big fan of SRV. I would say that Vaughan was technically quite proficient, and occasionally very melodic. But he stood on the shoulders of giants (Clapton, Hendrix,...).
And he should never ever have even considered doing a cover of "Little Wing".