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Bush remains Texans' preferred choice
By Todd McShay
Scouts Inc.
Archive
Just so everyone is clear; the investigation of alleged illegal benefits provided to former USC running back Reggie Bush and his family is a prevalent college football story, but it will have no bearing on Bush's draft stock.
If Bush is not the first overall player selected in Saturday's draft, it will have everything to do with a failed negotiation between his agent, Joel Segal, and the Texans' front office. After all, what does Texans general manager Charley Casserly care if Bush and his family were living rent-free for the past 12 months?
The Texans continue to play leverage games by keeping contract talks open with NC State defensive end Mario Williams, but Bush is the player the Texans have targeted and continue to target with the top choice. According to what we're hearing, Bush could have a deal done with the Texans by Friday afternoon.
• The Cardinals might have a difficult decision to make when they go on the clock with the 10th overall selection. They would love for tight end Vernon Davis (Maryland) or defensive back Michael Huff (Texas) to fall to them, but that's not expected. Offensive tackle Winston Justice and defensive back Jimmy Williams were once considerations, but concerns about character have caused both players to drop a bit on some teams' draft boards.
Given all that, quarterback Jay Cutler and linebacker Ernie Sims are seemingly the most realistic possibilities at No. 10. Drafting Cutler as Kurt Warner's heir apparent makes long-term sense for the organization, but head coach Dennis Green isn't expected to be around long enough to develop the Vanderbilt product. Sims, on the other hand, could upgrade the Cardinals' defense immediately as a starter opposite Karlos Dansby.
After the front office spent big dollars on free-agent running back Edgerrin James this offseason, it seemed as though it was finally on board with the concept of building for a playoff run in the near future. If Cutler is the pick, however, it would serve as somewhat of a contradiction to that theory.
There also have been rumors floating around about Sims' durability. His medical report lists one concussion suffered, but some teams are concerned that Sims has endured others that do not appear on that sheet. If the Cardinals are uneasy about Sims' medical history, their draft-day decision gets decidedly easier.
Other teams also are scrambling right now to sort out the details. There is always the possibility a team interested in Sims has leaked false information in an attempt to get him to slip. If that's not the case, however, Sims could experience a draft-day free fall from a projected top-13 pick to the bottom half of the first round.
• Jimmy Williams also has been the victim of some vicious pre-draft rumors. Williams, who once was considered an elite prospect in the 2006 draft class, has seen his stock drop considerably the last few months. Part of the free fall can be attributed to his inconsistent play as a senior. However, reports of behavioral problems at Virginia Tech and a bipolar condition have also buzzed around NFL circles, leading to some serious doubts regarding his character and mental state.
In response to these allegations, Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer wrote a letter in Williams' defense recently (Friday). The letter included the following: "Over the past several years, in an effort to avoid dissemination of misinformation, we have provided the NFL scouts written description of our NFL draft eligible players. … It has now come to our attention that there is some incorrect information being distributed concerning Jimmy Williams. Jimmy was never dismissed from a practice session nor was he ever diagnosed as bipolar."
The letter goes on to describe Williams as "Very competitive, a big corner with athletic ability; a good person; good team leader [during his] senior year." After talking separately to two NFL scouts, the consensus was that Beamer's letter definitely helps to clear the air regarding some of the rumors regarding Williams' past personality concerns. However, there are still legitimate worries regarding Williams' erratic effort they witnessed on film and the abrasive attitude displayed during individual interviews. In my opinion, Williams is too big a risk for an NFL team to spend a top-15 pick on but too good a talent to drop out of the top 25.
• According to a source, the Buccaneers have an extremely high grade on USC's Justice and would consider moving up for him if they can get a reasonable offer to make such a deal. If that's the case, the Bucs likely would need to trade up ahead of the Eagles, who also have interest in drafting Justice, with the 14th pick. A possible suitor could be the Ravens, who are interested in moving out of the 13th spot to acquire another first-day pick. The Ravens have just two picks (13, 44) on Day 1 but seven picks in Rounds 4-6 (111, 132, 146, 166, 181, 203, 208).
• In a recent Buzz, I listed two college hoops players (George Mason's Jai Lewis and Connecticut's Ed Nelson) as potential late-round NFL draft picks. Lewis is still very much a late-round consideration as a tight end or offensive lineman, but Nelson did not help his cause during an on-campus workout for NFL scouts late last week. Lewis was not nearly as agile or fast as expected, and his "stiff" position drills left scouts unexcited about his NFL future.
Scouts Inc. watches games, breaks down film and studies football from all angles for ESPN Insider.
LINK
By Todd McShay
Scouts Inc.
Archive
Just so everyone is clear; the investigation of alleged illegal benefits provided to former USC running back Reggie Bush and his family is a prevalent college football story, but it will have no bearing on Bush's draft stock.
If Bush is not the first overall player selected in Saturday's draft, it will have everything to do with a failed negotiation between his agent, Joel Segal, and the Texans' front office. After all, what does Texans general manager Charley Casserly care if Bush and his family were living rent-free for the past 12 months?
The Texans continue to play leverage games by keeping contract talks open with NC State defensive end Mario Williams, but Bush is the player the Texans have targeted and continue to target with the top choice. According to what we're hearing, Bush could have a deal done with the Texans by Friday afternoon.
• The Cardinals might have a difficult decision to make when they go on the clock with the 10th overall selection. They would love for tight end Vernon Davis (Maryland) or defensive back Michael Huff (Texas) to fall to them, but that's not expected. Offensive tackle Winston Justice and defensive back Jimmy Williams were once considerations, but concerns about character have caused both players to drop a bit on some teams' draft boards.
Given all that, quarterback Jay Cutler and linebacker Ernie Sims are seemingly the most realistic possibilities at No. 10. Drafting Cutler as Kurt Warner's heir apparent makes long-term sense for the organization, but head coach Dennis Green isn't expected to be around long enough to develop the Vanderbilt product. Sims, on the other hand, could upgrade the Cardinals' defense immediately as a starter opposite Karlos Dansby.
After the front office spent big dollars on free-agent running back Edgerrin James this offseason, it seemed as though it was finally on board with the concept of building for a playoff run in the near future. If Cutler is the pick, however, it would serve as somewhat of a contradiction to that theory.
There also have been rumors floating around about Sims' durability. His medical report lists one concussion suffered, but some teams are concerned that Sims has endured others that do not appear on that sheet. If the Cardinals are uneasy about Sims' medical history, their draft-day decision gets decidedly easier.
Other teams also are scrambling right now to sort out the details. There is always the possibility a team interested in Sims has leaked false information in an attempt to get him to slip. If that's not the case, however, Sims could experience a draft-day free fall from a projected top-13 pick to the bottom half of the first round.
• Jimmy Williams also has been the victim of some vicious pre-draft rumors. Williams, who once was considered an elite prospect in the 2006 draft class, has seen his stock drop considerably the last few months. Part of the free fall can be attributed to his inconsistent play as a senior. However, reports of behavioral problems at Virginia Tech and a bipolar condition have also buzzed around NFL circles, leading to some serious doubts regarding his character and mental state.
In response to these allegations, Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer wrote a letter in Williams' defense recently (Friday). The letter included the following: "Over the past several years, in an effort to avoid dissemination of misinformation, we have provided the NFL scouts written description of our NFL draft eligible players. … It has now come to our attention that there is some incorrect information being distributed concerning Jimmy Williams. Jimmy was never dismissed from a practice session nor was he ever diagnosed as bipolar."
The letter goes on to describe Williams as "Very competitive, a big corner with athletic ability; a good person; good team leader [during his] senior year." After talking separately to two NFL scouts, the consensus was that Beamer's letter definitely helps to clear the air regarding some of the rumors regarding Williams' past personality concerns. However, there are still legitimate worries regarding Williams' erratic effort they witnessed on film and the abrasive attitude displayed during individual interviews. In my opinion, Williams is too big a risk for an NFL team to spend a top-15 pick on but too good a talent to drop out of the top 25.
• According to a source, the Buccaneers have an extremely high grade on USC's Justice and would consider moving up for him if they can get a reasonable offer to make such a deal. If that's the case, the Bucs likely would need to trade up ahead of the Eagles, who also have interest in drafting Justice, with the 14th pick. A possible suitor could be the Ravens, who are interested in moving out of the 13th spot to acquire another first-day pick. The Ravens have just two picks (13, 44) on Day 1 but seven picks in Rounds 4-6 (111, 132, 146, 166, 181, 203, 208).
• In a recent Buzz, I listed two college hoops players (George Mason's Jai Lewis and Connecticut's Ed Nelson) as potential late-round NFL draft picks. Lewis is still very much a late-round consideration as a tight end or offensive lineman, but Nelson did not help his cause during an on-campus workout for NFL scouts late last week. Lewis was not nearly as agile or fast as expected, and his "stiff" position drills left scouts unexcited about his NFL future.
Scouts Inc. watches games, breaks down film and studies football from all angles for ESPN Insider.
LINK
