SI.com pieceThe "Mario Williams was the right draft choice after all" articles are almost played out at this point. But you know what? I still love reading them.
Here's an excerpt from this one:
The Texans remained steadfast that time would justify their decision. Turns out they were right. In fact, the No. 2 and No. 3 selections may well go down as Dumb and Dumber. Bush is injury-prone and not nearly as effective as during his rookie year. Young is riding the bench, prone for bizarre off-field behavior.
Since his rookie season, Bush has played just 22 games and rushed for 985 yards and six touchdowns. That's less than Texans' 2008 third-round pick Steve Slaton (1,282-yards, nine TDs) had in 2008 alone.
Young was injured, then benched. He never picked up the Titans' offense as he was replaced by Kerry Collins. Young has thrown just 10 touchdowns against 19 interceptions since his rookie season. Last year, he reached a disturbing low, sulking, refusing to re-enter one game and going M.I.A., with police reporting that friends, family and coaches worried about Young's "emotional well-being."
Thus the question again as we look behind the scenes of the '06 draft and Williams approaches 2009 with legitimate lofty expectations: Were the Texans brilliant or just lucky?
I'll go ahead and call 'em brilliant. They deserve it.
No question Mario is the better pro than Reggie Bush or Vince Young. But I'll never be convinced that the Texans used the Overall #1 pick correctly that year. They could have traded down to #2 or #3 to select Super Mario and would have received additional draft picks or other compensation in return. Do you recall the pre-draft hype surrounding Bush and VY after their epic Rose Bowl? Mario could have easily slipped to 4 that year. Great for Mario, bad for the Texans front office. Coincidently, the Texans GM responsible for that draft, Charley Casserly, announced his "resignation" 11 days after selecting Mario at #1.
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