It's official - Texans to draft Mario Williams #1. The 2 sides have reached an agreement per ESPN.

The race to move up to #2 to take Bush begins. This also is great news for the Lions as the chance for a better player now increases.

This also is great news for the Lions as the chance for a better player now increases.

Maybe I'm just slow, but I don't see how this changes anything for the Lions.

Please help me.

This move reminds me of this:

2. Green Bay - Tony Mandarich - T - Michigan State
3. Detroit - Barry Sanders - RB - Oklahoma State

Now, I am not saying that Reggie will be as good as Barry was or that Mario will be as bad as Mandarich. But Mario needs to be Pro Bowl caliber for this move to be not questioned for a long, long time.

This also is great news for the Lions as the chance for a better player now increases.

Maybe I'm just slow, but I don't see how this changes anything for the Lions.

Please help me.

New Orleans becomes the Wild Card. Should NO take someone else other than Bush it affects the rest of the draft or at least the next 7 or 8 picks.

The other way this could play out is if somone else trades into the 2 spot to take Bush. This would change everyone else draft board right?

The chance of an AJ Hawk slipping is greater. Somone like the Brick could slip to the fifth or sixth pick. All more opps for teams to trade up that weren't there previously.

The only way this doesn't change the draft is if NO takes Bush. Tenesse said this morning this changes their entire strategy. So what if NO goes Brick then Ten chooses Bush. Ten would of taken a QB so now all 3 QB's are still avail.

The Raiders at their pick could now also be a wild card. If they take a QB that maybe Ten would of taken that leaves Huff to drop. I just see multiple scenarios where this benefits the Lions.

http://www.draftdaddy.com/blog/blog.cfm

The implication is that if the Jets want Bush bad enough, they can trade those picks and do it prior to the draft. The Saints are "unofficially" on the clock. The deal could possibly be done with NO gettng a future 6th rounder to even out the point differential.
In addition to the Jets, the 49ers, Raiders, Packers all are also reportedly talking Trade with NO for Bush. San Francisco also has 2 first round selections and is thought to be another leading candidate for Bush.

Another factor here for teams trying to trade up is that neither the Saints nor Titans really need RB - if the Saints for whatever reason don't get a deal done, Bush could just drop to 3 where the price would be less steep or even 4 where the Jets would give up nothing. The Jets have leverage to try to get the best deal possible.

It's chaotic in the draft waters but it's assumed by most that a deal will get done for Bush - New Orleans reportedly has other players higher on their board than 'the President.'
And if that trade happens the Saints could make their deal depending not only on the value chart but where they exactly want to move in that top 10.

Bottom line for draft fans right now - the NY Jets and the SF 49ers - in terms of sheer draft ammo and desire to deal up - have the early lead for Bush sweepstakes that started only hours ago. If the Saints could deal down and still get D'Brick that would save them the trouble of moving Jammal Brown to LT (an unnatural position for him) and tend toward the Jets as a more favorable partner. By 6 the first OT should be off the board.

As we have just been reminded anything can happen but it's clear these teams are going to be major players in what could be a very big trade up story.

Bring Reggie Bush to NY or SF it will be a media coup in either market. It's not unthinkable that New Orleans could stick with the pick as Bush is dynamic - but the money they have committed at the RB position makes that a tough move to make cap-wise.

As for Texans GM Charlie Casserly put his job on the line with this pick.

For the rest of the league, including New Orleans in the catbird seat, it's time to go big or go home.

Wow.

I just realized that the Lions would've been in position to pick Bush had they not won that New Orleans game late in the season. [smilie=stunned.gif]