Maybe We Were Wrong About That Mario Guy
December 14, 2007 by Albert Bianchi
Filed under Sports Rumors
Remember the good ole days of the 2006 NFL Draft? When we were sure that the Houston Texans were run by fools? When we were sure taking some defensive end from NC State was a mistake when the Heisman-winning reincarnation of Gale Sayers and the one-man national champion were still on the board? It felt really good to know more about football than executives for an NFL franchise. Apparently Mario Williams doesn’t like it when we feel good, that jerk, because he’s starting to look like a pretty solid player — and Reggie Bush and Vince Young aren’t exactly looking like the world-beaters they were supposed to be. Williams had 3.5 sacks as the Texans beat the Broncos on the NFL Network’s “Thursday Night Boxscore.” And then he did a little dance!
Yeah, but could they have traded down and still got him? You didn’t need to give him a “world beater” contract. It was not beyond me to draft core defense. However, Reggie Bush had and still has a chance to be one of those most dynamic players. It is not likely, but Houston may have been able to trade down and get Mario still.
However, I will eat my crow on this. Even Parcells had Mario #1 on his draft board and was quoted saying, he was glad he didnt have to take the pressure of that pick.
To be able to trade down and get a guy, you have to have someone who wants to trade up from a position where you can still get the guy. There was no one who wanted to trade with the Texans where they’d still be able to get Mario. The Saints were probably going to take him at #2.