NFL draft update

Saturday, 7:18 AM: Shortly after I posted this yesterday, Houston went and made mockery of me by signing N.C. State defensive end Mario Williams, making him the number one pick. That actually changes nothing that I said, save the "the Texans are going to start by making Reggie Bush the number one pick" part. Now, I wouldn't recognize Mario Williams if I tripped over him. Like almost everyone else, my awareness of his playing career is limited to a half dozen ESPN highlights chosen to illustrate his awesomeness. (Unlike almost everyone else, I admit it.) If, however, he turns out to be the player that people seem to think he is, Houston's cheapness (or Bush's intransigence) makes the Texans a better team than they might otherwise have been...

Saturday, 11:51 AM: Reportedly, LenDale White failed an NFL drug test in the run-up to the draft. Nothing that I'd seen would have dropped him out of the first round in my mind, but that might. I think he'll be a productive NFL running back. But will he play, or will he fall into the Ricky Williams' trap of being unable to stay on the field?

Saturday, 12:32 PM: New Orleans just made Reggie Bush the 2nd overall pick. ESPN's highlight reel of Bush was spectacular - he truly is an amazing athlete. That said, my first reaction to all of his plays from scrimmage was "look at the size of that hole!" Seriously, he's wonderful in the open field, but he's not going to get 5 yards downfield before he gets touched in the NFL, not consistently. I really question whether his is the kind of college dominance that translates to the pros...

(ESPN's Len Pasquarelli disagrees with me on Williams vs. Bush)

Saturday, 12:35 PM: Vince Young goes to Tennessee. Do the Jets take Leinart? As a Patriots fan, I'd rather see them continue to try to win with Chad Pennington. Do they take the QB (Leinart) or the T (Ferguson)?

Saturday, 12:47 PM: They go with the tackle. Leinart's still out there. They're apparently going to try to win with Pennington or Patrick Ramsey.

Saturday, 4:34 PM: I said yesterday that "the Patriots won't select a player that any mock draft has them selecting." Here are the picks in the mock drafts that I've seen this week:

Mock draft predictions - New England Patriots, 21st overall in 1st round

Source	Pundit	Pick
ESPN	-	Chad Greenway
CNN/SI	Dr. Z	Brodrick Bunkley
CNN/SI	Don Banks	Antonio Cromartie
CNN/SI	Peter King	DeAngelo Williams
Sporting News	-	Antonio Cromartie
Dallas Morning News	-	Bobby Carpenter
CBS Sportsline	Pete Prisco	DeAngelo Williams
CBS Sportsline	Clark Judge	Bobby Carpenter
CBS Sportsline	Dennis Doss	DeAngelo Williams
Great Blue North	-	DeAngelo Williams

With the 21st pick, the New England Patriots selected...Laurence Maroney, RB, Minnesota.

The interesting thing about any analysis of the Patriots draft is this - the media understands that Belichick and Pioli are smarter than the analysts. Anyone else making a pick like this, picking a player higher than anyone has him projected to go, invokes the dreaded term "reach." But no one ever says that the Patriots are reaching...