RealGM Football: The Twelfth Writer - This Changes Everything

	More from RealGM NBA: Ford Expects To Keep Hearing Trade Rumors MLB: Yankees Remain Favorites To Sign Hechavarria NHL: NHL Team Rankings For 09-10 (Introducing The OCTR)
Index News Scores & Statistics Draft Simulator Transactions Prospects Reina Value Consensus Mock NFL Forum

The Twelfth Writer

Twelfth Writer Archives

9th Feb, 2010
Rethinking Peyton Manning

30th Jan, 2010
Senior Bowl: Win, Lose or Draw

Full Archive

NFL Columns

RealGM Poll

Should the Eagles absolutely keep Kevin Kolb?

Yes
No

Poll Archives

Draft Sim ID

Sponsors

Don't miss your chance for football betting at BetUS.com. As America's #1 sportsbook, BetUS offers the most up-to-date betting lines & odds for all your betting needs.

This Changes Everything

Authored by Carl Setterlund - 29th April, 2006 - 12:35 am

Current Featured Columns

Rules Of Thumb, Free Agency Edition

Free agency kicked off at 12:01 AM Friday, and already a handful of teams have jumped into the pool and make some big splashes.

Jeff Risdon. 8th March, 2010.

Grading The Deal: Ravens Get Boldin From Cardinals

Joe Flacco's arm will get more of a workout in 2010 because the Cardinals lowered their asking price.

Andrew Perna. 6th March, 2010.

Quarterbacks Rising And Falling In The Playoffs

Peyton Manning's playoff resume has been greatly debated. Here is how his numbers compare to the regular season, along with Tom Brady and more than two dozen other all-time greats.

Christopher Reina. 11th February, 2010.

Spoiled Rotten

There’s a difference between a favorite and a lock. When up against a team with playoff-level talent, it’s rare that the team with the better record ever appears in the second category.

Matthew Gordon. 24th December, 2009.

RealGM Search

Breaking news from several sources say that the Houston Texans have agreed to terms on a 6-year $54 million contract with North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams with about $26.5 million of the money guaranteed. This is a shock to much of the football community who were skeptical of Houston General Manager Charley Casserly when he announce his interest in drafting Williams number one overall.

Reggie Bush, the Heisman Trophy winning running back out of Southern Cal was the consensus top overall selection since before the draft order was determined. In fact, the “competition” for the top overall selection was deemed by many the “Reggie Bush Sweepstakes”. Thusly, news that Houston had begun negotiating with Mario Williams was surprising. While it was true that negotiations had taken place, most of the football community chalked this up as a leverage tool to save money when they signed Reggie Bush.
The selection of Williams, while a surprise, makes sense to an extent from a football standpoint. With running back Domanick Davis in the fold there wasn’t exactly a dire need for a running back, even though Bush was largely considered a talent so great that nobody could pass up on him. With the presence of wide receiver Andre Johnson and with the offseason additions of receiver Eric Moulds and tight end Jeb Putzier, Houston was apparently satisfied with the weapons at David Carr’s disposal. Williams is thought of by many as the best defensive end prospect since Julius Peppers.

More shocking than the NC State defensive end as the top overall selection is that Reggie Bush is not. Bush is compared to Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers and is expected to reinvent his position to an extent. He should not get more than 15 carries a game, but the USC running back also can line up at receiver and draw a lot of attention from opposing defenses. Not only that, but his return skills are second to none giving him an impact on three different aspects of the game.
Previous speculation had the New Orleans Saints trading out of the number two spot so that another team could draft a quarterback and they could take either the aforementioned Williams or offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson while gaining another pick.

However, the news of Mario Williams’ signing changes everything. New Orleans has premier running back Deuce McAlister but McAlister has often found himself injured. It begs the question whether New Orleans still finds themselves wanting to trade back. Reggie Bush is the kind of franchise player who could help raise the Saints team out of the ruins that not only their franchise, but their city finds themselves in.
If nothing else, the price for trading up to New Orleans’ number two spot is considerably higher. While previously the price was believed to be set at somewhere around a top five pick and a second or third rounder, now undoubtedly the Saints will want at least a top five pick and a second first round pick. There is one team who can meet those needs and another who comes close enough.

The New York Jets find themselves in a state of disarray but also find themselves with the 4th, 29th and 35th selections. Two or possibly all three of those picks could be packaged to move up to select Bush. A second team who could find themselves in the mix are the San Francisco 49ers who own the 6th and 22nd picks. Both of those teams have major holes to fill all over the board and might be hesitant to trade multiple high selections, but believe me when I say Bush is worth it.

In this draft as well as all NFL Drafts in recent memory the trend has been that nobody honestly has a clue what will happen. This has certainly been the case with the Texans opting for Mario Williams over Reggie Bush. A flood gate of new draft scenarios arises with this news. Alas, none of us are truly privy to the amount of interest the Saints have in Bush or the price other teams will pay to trade up. Do I have a clue of what will happen tomorrow? No I can’t tell you I do. All I know is that this changes everything.

More from RealGM