2006-04-18

Will Bush still go #1?

NFL.com has reported that "multiple sources, from across the league" have mentioned that the Texans are leaning away from drafting Reggie Bush with the first overall pick. These supposedly credible sources also indicated that Houston has been talking with Mario Williams about possibly signing a deal.

I'm not sure what's more laughable that people believe a story leaked so close to draft time, or that people are taking a story on NFL.com this seriously.

Every team in the NFL is running a full scale misinformation campaign that would make Big Brother in 1984 jealous. Houston tipped there hand over a month back when they indicated to Bush and his agent that they wanted to draft the much-hyped USC runningback. Bush, WITHOUT A DOUBT, will be the first overall pick.

Of course, that doesn't mean Houston is not looking to trade down. The Texans have other more pressing needs than runningback. Houston would be fools not to explore trade options, and leaking stories about talking with Mario Williams would stregthen their trade position.

The better question here is which team would be willing to give up the multitude of picks required to move up to number one? Jets, maybe. But the Jets have almost as many holes to fill as the Texans. And after that there's no team in the top eight which really needs a runningback enough to trade away other high picks.

In the end, Bush is such a unique talent at a position that can impact your team from year one (i.e. Cadillac), that a coach would be a fool to pass on him. Head coachs have three years to prove themselves or else they're done. Except for maybe Leinart or Vinny Young, nobody in this draft has been more analyzed and tested than Reggie Bush. Bush is the lead pipe lock of this draft.

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