Houston Texans: All-Time top-5 first-round selections
10. . Defensive End. Mario Williams. 5. player. Mario Williams. . . Mario Williams
Mario Williams was the number one overall selection of the Houston Texans in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played six seasons with the Texans, recording 53 sacks during that time, and ranks third all-time on the Texans' sack list.
In his rookie season of 2006, he was fifth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, after posting 4.5 sacks, 47 combined tackles, seven QB hits, and seven tackles for a loss. In year two, he exploded with 14.5 sacks and finished seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
His career total of 97.5 sacks places him 67th in the NFL’s unofficial All-Time sack leader list. He compiled 399 career combined tackles, 121 tackles for a loss, and 158 QB hits. Williams was a four-time Pro Bowl selection, voted to three All-Pro teams, two second-team, and one first-team.
After six seasons with the Texans, Mario Williams signed a free-agent deal with the Buffalo Bills. The deal was for six years, worth almost $90 million, which at that time was the league’s highest-paid contract and the first ever $100 million contract for a defensive player.
Williams would play out only four of the six years, after posting 38 sacks his first three years, he dropped off drastically in the fourth year, with only five sacks and 19 combined tackles. The Bills released him following that season and he played one more year with the Miami Dolphins in 2016.