ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Before there was a Jadeveon Clowney, there was Mario Williams. Like Clowney this year, Williams was the Houston Texans’ first pick in the draft, circa 2006.

They were both described as physical freaks, as evidenced in their pre-draft measureables.

Williams, from North Carolina State, was 6 feet 7, 295 pounds and ran 40 yards in 4.66 seconds.

Clowney, from South Carolina, was 6-6, 266 and ran 40 yards in 4.53 seconds.

Like Clowney this year, the 2006 first pick was somewhat of a surprise. That year, many thought Heisman Trophy winning running back Reggie Bush of USC was the best player in the draft. But the Texans took the pass rusher.

This year, Houston had a dire need at quarterback. But the Texans took the pass rusher.

Williams had an up-and-down stay in Houston, moving from defensive end to outside linebacker and battling injuries much of the time. Still, by the end of the 2011 season, Williams managed to set franchise career records with 53 sacks and 11 forced fumbles.

That looked good enough on his resume, and on tape, that on March 15, 2012, the Buffalo Bills signed Williams to a six-year contract worth up to $100 million, with $50 million guaranteed, the most lucrative player in NFL history at that time.

In his first two years with the Bills, Williams made 23 1/2 sacks and forced three fumbles.

In his first season with the Texans, Clowney needed knee surgery after the season opener and Sunday started for only the second time, collecting three tackles, one for a loss, and admitting the move from defensive end to his pro position of outside linebacker is a challenge.

So it is early and the jury has a while to consider whether Clowney was worth that pick.

But in Buffalo, the Bills are happy with Williams. He looks very much like the highest-paid player on the team. In a 38-3 win over the New York Jets on Monday night, Williams racked up another two sacks, giving him 12 for the season, just two off the career high he set at Houston.

Williams is just one off the league lead held by Kansas City’s Justin Houston. Williams has posted multiple sacks in consecutive games for the first time since October 2008, and he has at least one in three straight games.

After Monday night’s game, a teammate described Williams as “ferocious.” Coach Doug Marrone, who had some frustrating moments with Williams last season, was on board with this latest description of Williams.

“I’ll tell you what, I don’t disagree with that,” Marrone said of Williams being ferocious. “He came out and I was like, ‘Whoa.’ I mean, I really was like, ‘Holy cow, there he goes.’ Whatever that is, it’s what we need to keep getting, there’s no doubt about it.”

Meawhile, back in Houston, Clowney is still trying to fill the rather large hole left behind by the team’s previous draft freak.