The last time Houston held the top pick, Reggie Bush anger happened
On the eve of this year’s three-day draft spectacle (maybe four next year!!!) our nostalgic journey through recent draft history ends with another year in which the Houston Texans held the first overall pick.
It was 2006, and the Texans were about to shock the football-watching world.
The BIG story
The Reggie Bush you know now is shifty, has open-field quicks, and man is he ever fast (still). But he’s only adequate while running between the tackles with the punishment that requires. That’s why of his eight NFL seasons, only two have been of the full 16-game variety.
After eight NFL seasons, you know Reggie Bush to be fast (still), shifty and quick in the open field. You also know he’s only adequate running between the tackles. That sort of punishing work permitted him to play all 16 games in two of those eight campaigns.
Forget what we learned over 105 NFL games. In 2006, we knew bursting to the outside and finding space was Bush’s best opportunity for success. Similar to how Jamaal Charles was used this past season in Kansas City, it was also clear that finding space for Bush through the passing game would lead to more kabooming fireworks.
But we saw enough at USC to be convinced Bush could run up the middle, and do it successfully. Enough to be the no-doubter, bank it, first overall pick.
Thinking otherwise made you looney tunes - a perfect description of Houston Texans general manager Charley Casserly for passing on Bush in favor of Mario Williams. At the time it was blasphemous, and a heinous crime against forward football thinking.
But it was also the right move.
Yes, the still-young Texans franchise (they had finished only their fourth season) needed offensive playmakers in the worst way. Andre Johnson was already heading towards being the behemoth secondary busting man he is now, but in the backfield there was Jonathan Wells and Domanick Williams for an offense that scored only 26 touchdowns, and averaged 16.2 points per game.
There was also the problem of David Carr and his doomed offensive line. By the end of the 2005 season Carr had already been sacked 208 times, including a record-setting 76 during his rookie year. If Bush wasn’t the answer, then maybe Vince Young or Matt Leinart were. It didn’t take many dots to connect Young and the Texans (hometown of Houston + Longhorns = winner?)
Casserley was doomed regardless, because a two-win team in its infancy had far too many gushing holes. But with Bush’s limitations in mind he went with Williams. How did that work out?
Williams has been to three Pro Bowls, and he has 76.5 career sacks over 114 games. Bush has strung together some quality seasons, but not as a runner. He has only two +1,000 yard rushing years, but combined with his ample receiving that number climbs to four seasons with 1,200 or more total yards. Fine production, but not first overall production.
Leinart and Young? Let me tell you another story.
The tale of tears
The 2006 BCS National Championship game between USC and Texas was littered with glittering NFL gold on both sidelines. To name just a few: Bush, Jamaal Charles, Brian Orakpo, Henry Melton, Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews, Ryan Kalil. Some weren’t starters at the time, but they would go on to have both decorated college and professional careers.
But none were as prominent as Vince Young and Matt Leinart. It was to be the stage upon which the top pick in the following spring’s draft was settled, or at the very least which quarterback would come off the board first. Taking the even larger view, it was to be a game we looked back on years later and said “ahhhh yes, that’s where it all began”.
Is that all a little too gushy? Yes, yes it is. But try watching this live and not drooling all over yourself…
Young had back-to-back seasons with over 1,000 rushing yards with the Longhorns, which made us all blind to his loopy throwing motion. Meanwhile, Leinart was the hot tub hero, finishing his USC career with a Heisman Trophy, and 10,693 passing yards.
Four months later they were both top 10 picks, with Young landing in Tennessee at third overall, and Leinart falling a little further to the Cardinals at No. 10. Toss in highly touted safety Michael Huff, and three players from that championship game were selected in the top 10.
Where are they at now? Young is fighting to stay third on Cleveland’s depth chart and he hasn’t started a game since 2011. Leinart lost a competition to be the fourth quarterback on Buffalo’s roster last August after injuries to Kevin Kolb and E.J. Manuel, probably because he faced an intense challenge from Jeff Tuel and Thad Lewis. He hasn’t taken a meaningful snap since 2012, and 11 or his 18 career starts came in his rookie year, before he was promptly cast aside by Kurt Warner.
Huff? He spent a lot of years giving up a lot of yards in Oakland, before bouncing from Baltimore to Denver in 2013 as a mere depth option. But hey, he’s still in the league, so that’s something.
The best name
D’Brickshaw Ferguson forever (fourth overall, New York Jets). But Frostee Rucker really gave him a go in this class, along with Ashton Youboty.
The other busts
You thought we were done with Leinart and Young? Kellen Clemens (Jets, 49th overall) would like to remind you that often waiting on your quarterback can end just as badly as biting early. The others…
Bobby Carpenter (Cowboys, 18th overall)
Laurence Maroney (Patriots, 21st)
John McCargo (Bills, 26th)
Sinorice Moss (Giants, 44th)
LenDale White (Titans, 45th overall)
The freak human
When we think of a Combine superstar who defies all laws of science, Calvin Johnson is the first image. And so he should be, but before he was selected by the 49ers with their sixth overall pick in 2006, Vernon Davis ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds.
This is when I remind you that Davis is a 6’3”, 250-pound human, and that time is well ahead of the his teammate and rather mobile quarterback Colin Kaepernick (4.53).
The bargains
Jason Hatcher (Cowboys, 92nd overall)
Owen Daniels (98th)
Brandon Marshall (119th)
Elvis Dumervil (126th)
Willie Colon (131st)
Antoine Bethea (207th)
Cortland Finnegan (215st)