Texans Snubbing the President for Super Mario

Reports from NFL.com are saying information from several legitimate sources indicates the Texans are not going to pursue “The President” Reggie Bush and are instead going to pursue North Carolina State DE “Super Mario” Williams.

Here is the evidence:

1) Texans have not had any contract negotiations with Bush.
2) They have initiated contract negotiations with Williams.
3) Some of the Texans organization did not bother to see Bush when he came to Houston.

• Those close to Reggie Bush didn't feel the red carpet was rolled out for him.
• A person in the Bush camp said that he didn’t feel Bush would be a Texan.

4) The entire organization seemingly rolled it out for Williams on his visit.
5) They have RB Dominick Davis, a 1000 yard rusher.
6) A major weakness for the Texans is their defensive line.

NFL.com is not the only place coming up with similar claims. On the latest edition of the NFL Draft specials on ESPN, reporter Chris Mortensen said that a credible source told him (he never goes on air with something before making sure the source is of legitimate authority) that the Texans have Williams as the top player on their draft board, which logically means that their priority is to take him over Bush.

If this were to happen it would change the dynamic at the top of the draft as the Saints would take Bush instead of shopping the pick or taking Virginia OT D’Brickashaw Ferguson.

This year’s draft is shaping up to be quite an event.

Date

Tue 04/18/06, 7:54 pm EST

Comments

ASwaffAll-American

1324 days ago

Score 0

Interesting stuff. Although I wouldn't call passing on a player in the draft a snub. Bush could still be the #1 overall. People are incredibly high on Mario Williams, and rightfully so. But everyone also knows that the Texans could safely pick him outside of the top five. This isn't the kind of team that's a component or two away from being a winning franchise. They basically need to start from scratch, and they've made good moves in that direction this off-season. If they could trade get a much-needed defensive lineman AND other components by trading down, I think it's the way for this team to go.

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

1324 days ago

Score 0

To me if they aren't going to draft Bush they should trade down, as long as they can ensure that the Saints don't take Williams.

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DNLLegend

1324 days ago

Score 0

If they're not going to draft Bush, they should let time expire. If the Saints take Williams, they trade the pick to the Jets (who want to leap over Tennessee) and then grab D'Brick at #4. If the Saints don't take Williams, they take him and save some coin.

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Anonymous Fanatic #2

1324 days ago

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one thing though. if they let time expire, the Jets would try to stall them further while the Saints make their mad rush, followed by the Titans and the Jets. Remember when the Vikings let time run out a few years ago and four teams leapfrogged them?

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MetsJetsDevilsDraft Pick

1324 days ago

Score 2

I don't buy any of this. This is what I think. The Texans want to trade out of the pick because they don't need Bush but do need DBrick. However, NO does not need a RB already having and paying big for Deuce. The Titans have 2 decent RBs but like the Jets have bigger needs than RB so are not willing to pay the price to move up to #1. However, here may be more of a market for Williams. By saying they are going to take Williams they both gain leverage in negotiations with Bush, and also try to build a trade market for Williams that did not exist for Bush.

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Anonymous Fanatic #3

1323 days ago

Score 1

<a href="http://www.texasrainmaker.com">I still think they ought to take Vince Young. Give unsuccessful David Carr a one way ticket the hell out of town.</a>

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Pack MentalityWaterboy

1322 days ago

Score 0

This could mean Bush drops a lot more than just one spot, as the Texans aren't the only team at the top of the board that has more ungent needs than a RB. The Saints already have Deuce, and could use help up front (think D'Brick). The Titans may be on the outs with Steve McNair, and he's showing his age in any event, so you've gotta think they'll go with either Young or Matt Leinart. The Jets might go with Bush as the successor to Curtis Martin, but then again they might take the other QB to push the injury-prone Chad Pennington. My Packers need to shore up their defense badly, especially their LB corps, so A.J. Hawk is a no-brainer for them, Bush or no Bush. The guy who used to be the biggest slam-dunk #1 overall pick in NFL draft history could conceivably slip all the way to the 49ers at #6. Bush and (Frank) Gore on the same team... who'dve thunk it?

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