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Reggie Bush revealed why the Houston Texans did not take the former USC star as the top pick of the 2006 NFL Draft, as was widely expected. He was the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner and was widely seen as the best player coming out of college given there were no obvious quarterback candidates.
Instead, the Texans went with defensive end Mario Williams. Reggie Bush said that when he went to the NFL Combine, it was only Houston he spoke to as other teams were sure that he will not be available for them. Speaking to Julian Edelman, he stated,
"When I went to Combine, 31 teams didn't want to interview me because they're like, he not gonna be here. He's going number one... And I only was talking to Houston, the entire process leading up to the night before the draft. It was only team I ever spoke to. And so Charley Casserly was the GM at this time."
However, at the time, he was involved in issues with his Heisman Trophy as he was said to have taken illegal benefits as a college player, which was forbidden at the time by NCAA rules before NIL payments were regularized. And after the Texans went into that, they did not feel that his character matched up to what they were looking for in Houston. That is why he was allegedly passed on and went to the New Orleans Saints instead. Reggie Bush continued,
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"I later found out some really some reasons why. Which had to do with the Heisman Trophy. And I guess supposedly they had a private investigator, come do a whole investigation and the investigator came back and told them I had bad character, don't draft me. And so that's how I ended up not going to Houston."
Reggie Bush not going to the Texans out of USC in the 2006 NFL Draft ended up as a win-win situation
It is rare that decision such as the one taken by the Texans in the 2006 NFL Draft end well. Coming out of USC, Reggie Bush was seen as a generational talent. But in drafting Mario Williams, Houston got a player who was a two-time First Team All-Pro with them and once with Buffalo Bills. The running back never reached such heights in the NFL.
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But going second in the 2006 NFL Draft, Reggie Bush joined the New Orleans Saints, playing in an offense helmed by Drew Brees. He ended up winning the Super Bowl, something the Texans are yet to do in their history.
