NEW YORK -- Southern California teammates Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart dropped on draft day. Both should rise quickly after it.
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The Heisman Trophy winners may turn out to be saviors for their new franchises -- in different ways.
Bush, all but guaranteed the top spot for months, instead went No. 2 to New Orleans after Houston decided that North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams would be a better building block for the next decade.
Leinart, who almost surely would have been the No. 1 overall pick last year after winning the Heisman in 2004, dropped all the way to No. 10, where he was taken by Arizona.
"There could be worse things in life, you know?" Leinart said, cracking a smile.
Leinart was the second quarterback taken after the Tennessee Titans decided that the heir to Steve McNair would be national champion Vince Young, taking the Texas quarterback with the third overall pick.
Still, the USC teammates become instant stars on teams that can use some.
Bush will do the one thing in New Orleans that no one in the team's 39-year history has been able to do: sell tickets. Yes, his explosiveness will also help win games, but even if the Saints continue to lose, fans will show up to watch him, something that could keep the team in the hurricane-devastated city for the foreseeable future.
"I'm coming in there strong, I'm coming in there to help win some games, and I'm coming in there to help the city get turned around," Bush said.
Bush also comes in amid questions concerning who paid the rent for a home his parents lived in, and whether an agent was involved, which could violate NCAA rules. He's adamantly insisted there was no wrongdoing.
Leinart said Titans coordinator Norm Chow -- his former offensive mentor at USC -- was fighting for him "but it wasn't his decision."
It wasn't, and now Tennessee will find out if the elusiveness and arm strength that Young used to lead the Longhorns can translate to the NFL.
"Last night at 2:30, I was on my knees praying ... he will rewrite the position," said Floyd Reese, the Titans' general manager.
