A Tale of Three Rookies: The Truth Behind the Mario Williams Pick

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Mario Williams. A 6'7'', 291-pound, 24-year-old defensive end who has averaged over 13 sacks in his last two seasons.

And he’s still a kid.

Many feel the 2009-10 season will be Williams’ year. Where he breaks out from being a talented rookie, to a defensive megastar.

Think James Harrison.

The most surprising thing about the Williams story is the fact that he has to go down as one of the least known No. 1 picks in draft history.

Until Houston started courting him, not many fans had Mario very high on their draft boards.

So how did this deal come about?

Firstly, Mario didn’t just appear out of nowhere. Houston had been watching him for a long time, and liked what they saw.

GM at the time, Charles Casserly, watched Williams eight times during his final college year, and liked what he was seeing.

After a trip to watch Williams against Florida State, he told a friend at Sports Illustrated Magazine, "This guy might make more Pro Bowls than anyone else in the draft”.

They were still far from convinced though. Well until the combine.

They knew Williams was a powerhouse, but were concerned that he took plays off, lacked aggression, and wasn’t athletic enough.

Then they watched a 291-pound, 6’7'' athlete, run a 4.65 forty (only marginally slower than Brian Urlacher’s combine time), bench press 35 times, and put in one of the all-time great combine sessions.

They were sold.

Houston’s problems, however, were to come in the form of the Heisman Trophy. Running back Reggie Bush winning it, and hometown hero Vince Young coming in second.

Running back was a big need, and Vince was a fan favorite. There would be pressure to pick both.

Vince Young was never seriously considered.

In fact, The Texans didn’t even grade Young as first-round talent.  They were alarmed by his inability to learn plays, and how, in truth, his college offense was dumbed down to help his game.

Then came his wonderlic score.

He had the physical tools, but not the footballing intelligence to lead an NFL offense.

I would say this was a smart talent assessment. Well, if the Texans hadn’t already offered David Carr a two-year contract extension, pre-draft.

Bush was a more difficult proposition. He was seemingly talented enough to make an immediate impact. But they liked Williams more.

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