Here's my deal with Mario Williams:

The guy is an absolute freak, a lá Julius Peppers. Athletically, he's one of the most gifted players to come around in a long time. Nobody can overlook that fact, and if they try to, then they're just being dumb.

But here's my beef. The guy just doesn't try as hard as he should. He's been known to take plays off. I know that might not seem like a big deal, but the best defensive linemen have motors that never stop! With a draft bust like Sullivan still on our roster, I am a little wary of ANY defensive linemen that takes plays off, no matter how good he is.

Another thing that I've noticed about him is that people love to talk about his 14.5 sacks. Yeah, that's pretty good. But just think about this for a minute. Against the premiere teams that NC State played last year (Florida State, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina) Super Mario totaled 1 solo sack and 1 assisted sack. That also includes a game against Georgia Tech where he didn't even register a tackle. I know you might think I'm reading too much into this, but what I see is a guy who just doesn't show up for the big games.

So where did all of those sacks come from? 12 of them came from such stellar programs such as Wake Forest (4-7), Southern Miss (7-5), Maryland (5-6), and Middle Tennessee State (4-7).

Here's what I'm thinking, this guy is really good. I'd like to have him in black and gold. But would I rather have him instead of AJ Hawk? Hell no. Not only does Williams not provide help for a position of need, he also doesn't seem to excel against big-time competition. I think the only reason draft analysts are so willing to blow him is that he had amazing combine results and is very gifted athletically. However, I just would rather have a guy like Hawk who not only can fill a need, but also is known to never take a play off.

Well said Deuce. I also noticed if you look at his highlight package, it's against some teams you can't name. But if you look at Hawk's it's against UT, the national champs. Just an example of a big time player stepping up in a big game, and another shrinking.

I dont want Mario Williams. I would rather Hawk, Ferguson, Bush or even Leinart. I was just saying that Charles Grant is not a top 10 DE. I think the mindset the team needs to have going into the draft is to pick a player that helps us in a position where we are the weakest. Tackle, LB, DT, CB, WR, QB.

Now THAT I agree with, except the Grant part. Ok, maybe he's only top 15, but ONLY cause of the down year. Anywho, my first choices are LB(Hawk), DT(trade down for Bunkley or Ngata), T(Ferguson). I in no way wanna see Mario's name called for us wherever we select.

If, and i am stressing the if, we trade down to say 6...and ferguson and hawk are gone, then take Mario Williams. You get great value and it opens up doors for you to keep your DE's fresh and move them around to find weaknesses on the other team. But i do not want the number 2 pick to be kept by the saints and have them draft Williams.

No way in hell Mario Williams is there at 6. He's supposedly the top player on some teams' boards. I've heard that him and Reggie Bush are the two that Houston is thinking about.

You dont think that it is possible for the first 5 picks to be:

-Bush
-Leinart
-Young
-Ferguson
-Hawk

That is a definite possibility.