4/29/2006 Houston (AP) -- The Houston Texans got the NFL draft off to a stunning start a day early, bypassing Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and instead signing defensive end Mario Williams with the No. 1 pick Friday night.
Houston started negotiating with both Williams and Bush this week. While many expected the Southern California running back to be the Texans' choice, they went for the North Carolina State lineman instead. This is a decision that took a lot of time to make, but at the end of the day we felt this was the best player for our football team," general manager Charley Casserly said. "Both players, Reggie Bush and Mario Williams, are going to, I think, be great pros. We made the decision to go with defense."
The Texans signed Williams to a six-year, $54 million contract, with $26.5 million guaranteed. Bush has been embroiled in some controversy this week concerning who paid the rent for a home his parents lived in, and whether an agent was involved -- which would be an NCAA rules violation. Whether that played a role in the decision to go with Williams was unclear.
The Texans' move left the New Orleans Saints with an opportunity to take Bush as the No. 2 pick. Williams becomes the first defensive end taken No. 1 overall since Courtney Brown went to the Cleveland Browns in 2000. He also becomes the 12th defensive lineman to be picked at the top of the draft. The 6-foot-61/2, 292-pound Williams, who left school a year early to enter the draft, has been described as a cross between Julius Peppers and Lawrence Taylor.
He saw his stock soar after his amazing performance at the NFL combine in February, running the 40-yard dash in 4.73 seconds, and doing 35 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press. Williams surely will help a Texans defense that ranked 31st total defense last season; 32nd against the rush and 24th against the pass. The Texans, who haven't had a winning season in their four-year existence, got the first pick after going 2-14 this past season. (Talk about this move by the Houston Texans on our message board)
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
