Houston Texans Pass on Reggie Bush
2006 NFL Draft sees North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams instead of the USC back.
May 1, 2006
The 2006 NFL draft had a few surprises, but two stood out among the rest. The Houston Texans pulled a draft-day eve move that sent shock waves around the National Football League, when the Texans opted to sign North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams, instead of virtually every expert's can't-miss choice of USC all-purpose back, Reggie Bush.
Then, the New York Jets, desperate for a quality quarterback, passed on USC's Matt Leinart, in favor of mammoth left tackle, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, out of Virginia.
As is the case with all NFL draft decisions, the real evaluation won't come for a few years, when the players have had time to showcase their talents. If Williams is Reggie White incarnate, the Texans will look like geniuses, even if Bush lives up to his pre-draft hype.
If Williams is just good - say, for example, he records seven or eight sacks per year in his first few NFL seasons - and if Bush is a sensation, the fans will decry the selection loud enough to be heard to the eastern seaboard.
Similarly, Ferguson can turn out to be an all-pro tackle, and these don't come along often, but if the Jets continue to struggle at quarterback and Leinart blossoms, the fans will go berserk.
Truth be told, every selection is risky. Great NFL teams, though, reduce the risk by looking at a player's overall ability, his character, his intelligence and his upside. All of these factors combined make for solid draft picks.
If the Texans and Jets used this recipe in the 2006 NFL draft, each team would have made a different choice. Bush clearly has the best chance, when measured against Williams, to flourish in the NFL. He has been compared to Gale Sayers, Marshall Faulk and other great backs. He can outrun most corners, out-muscle some linebackers and catch like the best receivers.
Houston could have taken Bush then traded Domanick Davis. Davis is a poor man's Bush; he can run and catch and has had some big numbers that make him a good sell to running back-poor teams. Davis might have brought either a defensive end to fill this need or perhaps another draft pick. The move is obvious to most people, at least those not calling the shots for the Texans.
The Jets easily could have made similar maneuvers. If they had done more homework, they might have considered trading down with Oakland or taking the player the Raiders coveted and swapping him for Oakland's pick and other considerations.
There was a cascade effect, once Houston signed Williams, and when other teams changed their plans, Leinart began falling faster than Enron. With any foresight, the Jets could have predicted this (most NFL fans understood the ramifications of the Williams signing) and cut a deal with the Raiders, who did not want Leinart. They could have easily gotten Oakland's second-round pick, had they negotiated properly.
The Jets could have then selected another good tackle, like Leinart's college teammate, Winston Justice, who was taken one slot behind Oakland in the round two of the NFL draft. Justice could easily be as good as Ferguson.
Leinart looks like the real deal. Although others in this category - Tim Couch comes to mind - have failed, making Leinart no guarantee, Leinart is a proven winner from a pro style offense.
With a better plan, the Jets could have had Leinart and Justice, instead of Ferguson and Kellen Clemens, the Oregon QB New York took in the second round.
So, Houston and New York are now thoroughly entrenched under the microscope. For each team's sake, their first-round reaches better turn out to be great, not just good.
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