Top 10 Texans Draft Successes - #4: Mario Williams

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Does Super Mario simply get credit for not being Vince Young or Reggie Bust Bush?  Well, duh, obviously.  Failing to address our lines would've been yet another major oversight had we gone with Young or Bust.  In addition, all my concerns about Radio (not learning the playbook, not having the heart, etc.) and Bust (not able to be an actual RB) have turned out to be 100% true.  But it's more than that.

Look, it's one thing to have expectations for a #1 overall pick.  It's another thing to look at his body of work and see the positives instead of, "Hey, this guy doesn't have 30 gajillion sacks, so he SUCKS!"  In my never humble opinion, Mario Williams has lived up to his draft status, and it'd be damn hard to convince me otherwise.  Here's the pre-jump scouting report.

So, Mario, what have you done for me lately?  Over the course of Super Mario's five (5) years in the NFL, he started the first 77 games of his career, finally going on the IR over the last three games of the 2010 season in order to get him healthy for 2011.  Look at that number again: 77 starts to begin his career.  Over that time, he accumulated 48 sacks, averaging nearly 9 per season, and he's become one of the best defensive ends against the run over his career.  He's accumulated these stats while suffering a series of maladies.

There are times when Mario can absolutely dominate a game.  I was unable to find anything meaningful from the 2007 match-up against the Saints when he had Bust literally pissing himself in the backfield.  Bust pulled himself out of the game for fear of getting hit.  Again.

The best part?  I don't think we've seen the best of Mario Williams.  I mean, look at who his Defensive Coordinators have been.  Richard Smith?  Frank Bush?  Oft times, Mario has been a one-man show in getting to the QB, and if I had a dollar for every time the guy has been held, I'd have enough money to pay for the breast reduction surgery I so desperately need.  Personally, I think the best is yet to come, and I think he's about to become a disruptive beast.

Mario Williams, all things considered, has been a fantastic nab by your Houston Texans, first overall pick or not.

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