The NFL Draft
A now-rare foray into the real world of sports for a moment.Can someone please explain to me why the Texans are supposedly taking Reggie Bush as the first choice in the draft?
Don't get me wrong: I think Bush is an absolutely phenomenal talent. Shocking, really. But any team who wants to take him with the first pick is crazy, for two reasons.
First is historical precedent. Since 1985, only twice have teams drafted running backs with the first pick in the draft: Bo Jackson in 1986, and Ki-Jana Carter in 1996. In fact, going back to 1969, here are the list of running backs drafted with the first pick:
1996: Ki-Jana Carter
1986: Bo Jackson
1981: George Rogers
1980: Billy Sims
1978: Earl Campbell
1977: Ricky Bell
1969: O.J. Simpson
There are some really phenomenal athletes there, but if you add up how many Super Bowls they won, the answer (I believe) is zero.
Zero.
I'm not sure any of those guys even played in a Super Bowl, even though some of them were absolutely incredible athletes.
If you look at quarterbacks drafted first since 1965 (twelve times), they have (roughly--I'm working from memory) ten Super Bowl titles between them, and I fully expect Peyton Manning to make it eleven this year.
Damn. I have to think that's not just an accident.
It's not like quarterbacks never flame out when they're the first pick. But a potentially great quarterback appears statistically to have a much greater payoff than a potentially great running back.
The second reason is that all the running backs that were selected with the first pick were workhorses. As great a running back as Reggie Bush is, he's no workhouse. He's a 15-20 touches a game kind of guy who wasn't even the designated "run between the tackles" guy on his own team.
Like I said, he's a phenomenal athlete and totally electrifying to watch, but the Texans are crazy to draft him with that pick.
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