Say goodbye to Mel Kiper and hello to 255 new NFL player, including 12 new Packers. The 2006 NFL Draft, held April 29 and 30 in New York City, is officially over.

As always, almost nothing went as planned.

In what turned out to be a wild weekend in the football world, so-called experts began ripping up their mock drafts hours before the clock even started winding down on the Houston Texans, owners of this year’s No. 1 selection.

The night before the draft, the Texans opted to pick and immediately sign N.C. State defensive end Mario Williams over USC running back Reggie Bush. Although Bush was widely considered the best player available in the draft and had been penciled in as a Texan the second his collegiate career ended, the four-year old franchise chose to upgrade their defense instead.

After Houston all but assured themselves the first selection in next year’s draft (which, for the ill-informed, goes to the team with the worst record in the previous season) by passing on Bush, the Heisman Trophy winner’s future was up in the air. With the second selection, the New Orleans Saints could either draft the rare talent or trade the pick at an extremely high price.

Serious trade talks with the New York Jets ensued, but 15 minutes later, the Saints decided not to make the same mistake the Texans made. Reggie Bush was headed to New Orleans.

With just two picks in the books, the 2006 Draft was already one of the more exciting in recent memory.

And the drama didn’t stop there.

The Tennessee Titans held the third pick, and were in the market for a quarterback. With former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow and former Trojan Jeff Fisher on board, USC’s Matt Leinart figured to be their guy.

However, when Commissioner Paul Tagliabue made his way to the podium to announce the Titans selection, many were shocked to hear Texas quarterback Vince Young’s name called. While what you see is basically what you get with Leinart, Young is considered a much bigger risk, with an even greater reward.

The Jets then drafted Virgina tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and the Packers grabbed Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk. Leinart’s name wasn’t called until the Arizona Cardinals stole him with the 10th pick, ending his Aaron Rodgers-like fall.

Speaking of the Packers, Ted Thompson went with quantity over quality in his second draft as general manager. The Pack entered the draft with seven picks and ended up with 12 after their GM fired off a total of five trades.

The biggest trade of the weekend sent disgruntled wide receiver Javon Walker to the Broncos for the 37th pick, which was promptly traded for more selections. The Packers managed to bring in some quality players: Hawk, Boise State offensive lineman Daryn Colledge and Western Michigan wide receiver Greg Jennings.

After an exciting draft weekend, “experts” are already whipping out Super Bowl predictions — all of which will end up just as ridiculous as their mock drafts. At least, for the Packers’ sake, let’s hope so.

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