Team knows it's Bush or Young, not Williams, who will sell tickets
The Texans are making a lot of noise about taking North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams with the first pick in the draft. Even though Williams is the top-rated defensive player and an outstanding prospect, selecting him over running back Reggie Bush or quarterback Vince Young would be a mistake.
When coach Gary Kubiak was in Denver, he never had to worry about ticket sales.
He also didn't have to worry about a losing record, especially a 2-14 season like the fans suffered through in 2005.
Although the tickets were sold, many fans abandoned the Texans last season. The four-year honeymoon is over.
The Texans still need to sell tickets, suites and sponsorships. They need to create a buzz. A defensive end doesn't sell or create anything.
Most of us can stomach passing up Young for Bush, who is the top-rated prospect on everybody's board. But it is something different to pass up both of them for Williams, even though new defensive coordinator Richard Smith would disagree.
The only way taking Williams makes sense would be to trade down for an extra pick or two. But then we would be left to wonder why they gave left end Anthony Weaver a $12.5 million signing bonus and tendered right end Antwan Peek at the maximum, requiring a first-round pick from anyone interested in signing the restricted free agent.
Owner Bob McNair said last week that Williams can have as big an impact on defense as Bush can on offense.
But there's one difference: Williams can't have the impact Bush can on ticket sales.
