In the months leading up to this weekend's NFL draft, it was a forgone conclusion that the words, "With the first pick in the 2006 NFL draft, the Houston Texans select-" would inevitably be followed by "Reggie Bush, running back, University of Southern California." After all, Bush had just electrified the nation with a 2005 Heisman campaign in which he averaged nearly nine yards per carry on the ground. Even more telling was when the final game of the NFL regular season between the Texans and the San Francisco 49ers was labeled by the media as the "Reggie Bush Bowl," meaning that the loser of that game would come in last place in the league and secure the No. 1 draft pick and the rights to draft the can't-miss USC runner.

With only a few weeks to go before the draft, news started coming from the Texans that they might not be set on Bush after all. The other prospect to emerge was not University of Texas quarterback and Rose Bowl MVP Vince Young, as many expected, but a defensive end from North Carolina State University named Mario Williams.

Then, on Friday night, less than 48 hours before the beginning of the draft, football fans received shocking news: the Texans had just reached an agreement with Williams on a six-year, $54 million contract, and planned to make him, not Bush, the first pick in Sunday's draft.

A well known scouting prospect whose play is virtually unknown to fans, Williams has starred far more in the 40-yard dash, the vertical leap and the bench press than on the football field.

Still, with 14.5 sacks in his junior season at NC State, Williams is no slouch as a player. But, for the last four years, he has not been anywhere within Bush's stratosphere, or Young's. Williams didn't come within a sniff of a national title or a Heisman in college, and his big games and noticeable performances have been few and far between.

With all the uncertainty of the NFL Draft, the only thing that is certain as of now is that Williams won't be able to bring the Texans out of the bottom ranks of the NFL by himself. It's not the nature of his position. That's more the role of a star quarterback, or position-defining running back.

So what caused the Texans to make a decision that nearly everyone who has watched college football this past year would be appalled by?

One of the major factors discouraging them from picking Bush was history: no running back chosen No. 1 in the draft has ever won a Super Bowl. Bush, however, is more than just a running back. He is also a deft receiver from the backfield and from the slot, as well as an electrifying kick returner.

As for Young, Houston may have passed on him due to the recent busts drafted high in the first round at quarterback. Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Ryan Leaf and Joey Harrington are just a few names on a long and notorious list. But, none of those players had the championship pedigree in college that Young had, nor did they bring to the table any of the intangibles that Young does as an athletic and dangerous runner. Perhaps the Texans should have looked more toward the recent success of Michael Vick, Daunte Culpepper and Donovan McNabb, all stars and game changers.

Finally, there is that age-old adage in the NFL that "defense wins championships." The recent string of champions that have been anchored by defensive units, such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, and Baltimore Ravens, is certainly hard to ignore. However, those teams won titles because their defenses were deep squads of 11 excellent starters. Simply adding one star on defense like Williams won't get the Texans even close to that level just yet.

Furthermore, is there one player on the Patriots' defense who was more instrumental in their championships than quarterback Tom Brady was on offense, or one Pittsburgh Steelers' defender who alone was more important to their championship this season than quarterback Ben Roethlisberger? Of course not. Strong defensive units can win championships, but a lone defensive player cannot.

With just 18 total wins in their four seasons of existence, the Texans are one sorry NFL franchise. In those years, there has yet to be that team-defining superstar to bring in fans and bring them out of their misery. Reggie Bush and Vince Young, whether or not they lived up to the hype, could have been exactly those kinds of players.

But it was almost too obvious for the Texans to go ahead and save their franchise by choosing a star with the first pick. Instead, they talked themselves into settling for an unexciting commodity.

Mario Williams might make a few Pro Bowls, but he won't turn around the Houston Texans. Perhaps next year when the Texans hear the words, "With the first pick in the 2007 draft, the Houston Texans select," they will know what to do with their pick.