Six of the top NFL draft prospects will gather tomorrow in New York to meet the news media. If their nerves are unsettled two days before their futures are to be decided, then imagine how the general managers of the teams with the top picks must feel.
The draft starts Saturday, but the top of the draft remains a muddle of projections and smoke screens. Even the first overall pick, usually a foregone conclusion at this hour, remains in flux.
The Houston Texans, who have the No. 1 pick, have begun contract negotiations with Reggie Bush, the University of Southern California running back, according to the Houston Chronicle. Bush, the Heisman Trophy winner, has been presumed to be the No. 1 pick for months. But, the newspaper reported, they have also been talking to the agent for North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams.
PHOTO: AP
Could the Texans be seriously considering passing on Bush, whose talent is so transcendent that the ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said that he would have been a first-round pick if he had played receiver? Perhaps.
Williams is the best defensive player in the draft, a 6-foot-7, 295-pound physical marvel who can change games as a pass rusher. He had 14 1/2 sacks last season, and a pass rusher in the current NFL has a greater impact on the game than a running back. But the Texans may also be using their interest in Williams as a tactic to persuade Bush's representatives to lower their demands.
Bush has another distraction to grapple with. Yahoo.com reported Sunday that while Bush was playing at USC, his family lived in a house in Spring Valley, California, that was owned by a man who sought to handle Bush's professional marketing. The Pac-10 Conference said it would investigate the connection between Bush's family and Michael Michaels, a San Diego businessman who owned the home.
"My parents leased the house, just like any normal family would," Bush said Monday in an interview with ESPN. "It's kind of funny how this whole story is getting blown out of proportion."
Tom Hansen, the Pac-10 commissioner, said Monday that the league's investigation into Bush was in its early stages and that Bush and his family were under no obligation to cooperate.
"The only real leverage we have on a student-athlete is remaining eligibility or financial aid," Hansen said in an interview in Phoenix, adding with a laugh, "None of which after this weekend is going to matter much to him."
The report is not expected to affect Bush's draft status, and it would be shocking if the Texans passed on him.
The top selections are so unpredictable this year because of their unusual mix of positions.
"But the three most important positions on a team are the quarterback, the left tackle and the pass rushing end," said Gil Brandt, who analyzes the draft for NFL.com and was the architect of the Cowboys teams of the 1970s and 1980s.
He said that in this draft, "you have five or six players available" who come from the most important positions.
The Saints have the No. 2 pick, but no need for a quarterback. Three quarterbacks are expected to go in the first half of the first round, including Matt Leinart of USC and Vince Young of Texas; those two could go in the top five picks. But the Saints signed quarterback Drew Brees as a free agent, although they have indicated that they are happy to listen to trade offers.
A few weeks ago, speculation centered on the Jets trying to trade with the Saints, hoping to grab a quarterback. But the Jets now appear to be content to stay at the fourth spot. They will almost certainly take Williams, if he is still available, to replace John Abraham.
Or they could take D'Brickashaw Ferguson of Virginia, perhaps the best offensive tackle to come out since Orlando Pace in 1997. Ferguson would be the cornerstone of a rebuilt offensive line and would protect the blind side of quarterback Chad Pennington or Patrick Ramsey.
The Titans, who have the third pick, need a quarterback. Steve McNair is not being allowed to work out at the team's facility, and even if he returns to the team, the Titans must begin grooming his replacement.
Leinart would seem to be a sure thing for the Titans. His former offensive coordinator, Norm Chow, is now with the Titans. But some reports indicate that there is a split within the front office about which quarterback to select, with some staff members preferring Young.
"If you don't have a young franchise quarterback already, it will be interesting to see what teams do with a veteran in house and whether they will go for the young top one anyway," said Giants General Manager Ernie Accorsi, who added, "I'm happy I'm not up there."
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