METAIRIE, La. (AP) -Reggie Bush expects to be compared to Mario Williams throughout his career because of the way the 2006 NFL draft played out.
He'd rather leave those comparisons to others, however.
"I block that out of my mind. I don't worry about that," Bush said. "That story's for you guys to write."
Bush and Williams took turns during their first two NFL seasons making the teams that chose them look smart.
Coming off a Heisman Trophy season at Southern California, Bush was widely expected to be drafted first overall by Houston. Williams, a menacing defensive end at North Carolina State, was likely to go second to New Orleans, which had expressed its interest to him often leading up to the draft.
But the Texans stunned the football world and upset many of their fans when they chose Williams, leaving Bush for the Saints.
As Bush put together a highlight-filled rookie season and helped the Saints go all the way to the NFC championship game, Houston began to take a lot of heat, as did Williams, who was solid but hardly remarkable during his rookie season.
Last season, however, Bush struggled and then injured his knee, while Williams made major strides - enough to be selected on the second-team All-Pro team by The Associated Press.
On Wednesday, they lined up on the same field during a series of joint practices that the Saints and Texans are holding in advance of their preseason game on Saturday night in New Orleans. The non-contact sessions offered Williams a chance to practice at the training site where he once figured he'd be spending his work week.
If he had ended up in New Orleans, Williams would have been under a little less pressure to justify his team's draft-day decision, but that doesn't bother him, he said.
"I have no regrets," he said.
Williams also declined to admit to a moment of schadenfreude when Bush's production plummeted last season.
"He's a great player," Williams said of Bush. "He's just an incredible athlete and I wish him the best."
