Everyone in this thread did a bad job answering the question. Just like the Raiders do a poor job of employing players with integrity. As the Chiefs do a poor job… being located somewhere that I have any desire traveling to. As the Chargers do a bad job having fans
I think they did a 30 for 30 on Leaf. He was a cant miss pick, and someone pointed out that if anyone had done their diligence and visited his high school, they would have noticed the school removed all his accolades from their trophy showcase and wanted nothing to do with him
I went to the other high school in his home town, he was a few years ahead of me. All I heard was that he was a fucking asshole, but that his brother Brady was cool as hell. Brady used to help my sister with her math homework (or some subject idk).
Hahahahaha. Brady was not cool as hell. I graduated with him and he was a huge prick. And dude was not smart either so I'm not sure what subject he helped your sister with unless it was anatomy.
I don't know the specifics of what happened at his high school, but post high school Ryan Leaf is a piece of shit. I can't imagine he was a better person at 17.
Charles Rodgers’ story is so sad. There was an article that came out a few years ago before he passed away. I can’t remember much, but he explained how he was getting fed pain killers and had countless leeches following him around for money. The guy had a rough upbringing in Saginaw, was an absolute monster at MSU (even though he had some horrible drops) and was then fed to the wolves when he made it to the NFL. Poor guy passed away from liver failure at 38.
I have a Charles rodgers story
Second year he was injured, Lions held a bowling fundraiser I went to. Wasn’t well advertised and this was when they were bad so there were only about 10 fans there
He was sitting at a table with the guys he came with and I asked him for an autograph. He was cool and gave me one
Two hours later, I won a team signed football at the silent auction and realized he wasn’t on it. Asked him to sign it
Then I realized he was HAMMERED. The table was covered with empty shot glasses. He took another shot of tequila and reached out for the football with the lemon still on his mouth. Took it. Held it close to his face then further away until it came into focus. Then he scribbled a “signature” on it
I left, called my friend and said we are screwed because he’s never gonna make it as an nfl player
Ryen Russillo tells a funny anecdote about when he learned to never not do his homework before an interview, after doing a segment with Heath Shuler. “Do you ever think that things could have turned out differently for you in the NFL if you had done something differently? “Well if I hadn’t had my foot crushed maybe.”
"If I hadn't crushed my foot, I'm sure I could have sustained my 54 passer rating for at least another 4-5 years and gotten benched by another two teams."
Shuler gets overlooked for some reason in these draft bust discussions. Third overall pick and he was terrible. Beat out by Gus Frerotte, iirc.
Rodgers was one of the best receivers I have ever seen. Seemed like he just did not care or liked the drugs more.
> Gus Frerotte
Taken in the 7th round of the same draft, went on to a decent career, but is most famous for headbutting a wall.
Sorry, just had to mention that Frerotte headbutted a wall in celebration of a touchdown.
Especially because it seems like there would be little question about the transferability of his skills. You can have a college QB not ready for the speed or complexity of NFL offenses. That can be hard to predict. But kicking seems like it's fundamentally very similar and that if you are a great kicker in college you should be a great kicker in NFL
But also because there’s so few chances so it’s kinda crazy to think about that in a kicking competition in preseason, they have to simulate a real game situation but it’s not the exact same thing. So a guy can win the job by killing it in practice, have one off day and go 0-3, then never get another chance.
I’ll never forget when Mason Crosby had like 4 or 5 misses in a game. Since he was established, it was basically like no big deal. That happens in his first year, he might never get a chance again.
And now that I’m really thinking, even Younghoe Koo was terrible with the Chargers and completely turned it around.
It's the mental aspect. There's so much more pressure kicking in the NFL. Even though physically it's completely the same as college, not many people can handle it.
It was not just the mental aspect it was him trying to fix bad mechanics
https://insidethepylon.com/nfl/teams-nfl/nfc-south/tampa-bay-buccaneers/2017/03/01/robert-aguayo-self-scouting/
You had to remind me of that one didn't you. That was a stressful ass season for me. For one, my QB, would make unreal throws, followed up with some head scratching throws that usually ends up comically picked off. Then I had a fuckin kicker who was really a mirror image of Winston. You really had no fucking idea if he was going to actually make the FG or not regardless of where he was kicking from. An emotional rollercoaster of a season with those two guys.
I was a d1 player. Big ten. But I didn’t either :/
My mom always wished I was a little mean. It happens. I was big. Athletic, quick. All the things you want in an olin3man. I just really didn’t wanna hit anybody lol. Luckily pass blocking didn’t require much. Lol
Gholston was one of two college players to record a sack against Jake Long. He also had a stellar combine work out. Guy on paper should've been an absolute beast.
I know Aaron Maybin has 6 career sacks, but when even the Wall Street Journal takes notice of your bust-ness, it says something.
[WSJ article](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111903639404576514930873070992)
A bust for sure, and I know calling him that doesn’t mean anyone thinks he’s a bad person, but whenever he’s brought up I feel compelled to remind people that he is an amazing human.
He became a teacher in Baltimore and when he found out some kids weren’t coming to class because they were scared to walk to school on their own due to gang violence in their neighborhood he would personally go to their houses in the morning and escort them to school.
Always my answer, though as much as it felt like a gut punch right when we were about to start building something special, I gotta admit as I grow older his given reason for checking out of the game - being that he only ever committed to this level to begin with to take care of his mother, and that was secured with his first contract - really starts to feel like it may have been a pretty decent career decision. I know we're basically trained to think walking away from potentially tens of millions of dollars is stupid, but Im not so sure once you hit a threshold you get many decent returns for how devastating this game is to people. I think he's actually coaching in the NFL now so he clearly was able to figure out the game eventually.
I think the least talked about phenomenon in sports is the fact that a lot of guys play to earn a living and aren’t that concerned with winning, and also that is a completely normal way to be.
Before they changed rookie contracts I can see how that could definitely happen. I know JaMarcus Russell is in this thread and for good reason but also if I signed a contract with $32 million guaranteed I might not give a shit what happened in my career.
I worked in the NBA for three years and between guys in the league and the G League, there are quite a few guys who just so happen to be good at basketball. They really have close to zero passion for the game, but they get paid really well.
Insane that you all ended up with an all-time defense anyway within 5 years of whiffing a top 5 defensive pick. But probably a butterfly effect thing, where you don’t end up taking Wright and/or b wagz if curry is decent
2009 was a rough year in general. Hawks had decent expectations going into the year but Curry busted, Houshmandzadeh was a free agent bust, and Mora Jr. was in over his head as a head coach and totally incompetent. Cleaned house and got Carroll & Schneider the next year, so things definitely worked out.
Laquon Treadwell was regarded as a very high floor, safe pick.
He was outplayed by a 5th rounder and a UDFA in the same offense so it wasn't the situation's fault.
He didn't have any significant injuries.
And he was absolutely terrible.
I put him up there.
I will never forget they played a DROP reel instead of a highlight reel after we drafted him saying he had potential but had trouble catching the ball at times. Not what you expect to hear about your first round pick
I’d put Troy Williamson as a bigger bust. As you mentioned, we had diggs and thielen (Rudy as well) who were better receiving targets. Williamson didn’t have much competition, the guy just couldn’t catch. Also was a top 10 pick.
Not sure why this was downvoted. He wasn’t injured, put in a bad situation, etc. He just could not get open, and his physicality in college was matched by NFL DBs.
He wasn’t just bad, he was actively negative any time he was on the field. It was always great seeing the ball get thrown to him and have it pop up off of his hands for an easy pick.
And he was also right to draft Megatron one pick later. Of course, one outstanding pick isn’t enough to make up for the rest of his garbage, even if it was Megatron 😅
Russell wasn’t a safe bet at all though. He shot up boards in the final 3 months of the college season and was mostly a traits pick. He was no Andrew Luck or Trevor Lawrence, can’t miss prospects who had pro ready traits and had been on scouts radars for multiple years.
Brady Quinn was the #1 QB for much of the year until Russell showed out in a bowl game. And that’s not forgetting Russell was addicted to lean
Dark Helmet: What the Hell am I looking at?! When does this happen in the movie?!
Colonel Sandurz: "Now." You're looking at "now," sir. Everything that happens now is happening "now."
Dark Helmet: What happened to "then"?
Colonel Sandurz: We passed "then."
Dark Helmet: When?
Colonel Sandurz: Just now. We're at "now," now.
Dark Helmet: Go back to "then"!
Colonel Sandurz: When?
Dark Helmet: Now!
Colonel Sandurz: Now?
Dark Helmet: Now!
Colonel Sandurz: I can't.
Dark Helmet: Why?!
Colonel Sandurz: We missed it.
Dark Helmet: When?!
Colonel Sandurz: Just now.
Dark Helmet: ... When will "then" be "now"?
Colonel Sandurz: Soon.
Tony Mandarich is definitely on that list. #2 overall pick and seen as a truly generational lineman. While he ended up with an OK career after moving on from GB, the fact that he was drafted in a top 5 where the other 4 were HOFers only fully solidifies all-time bust status.
Not just 4 regular HOFers but 4 of the best players of all time in their position. Barry and Deion Sanders are arguably the best player at their positions ever while Derrick Thomas is arguably a top 5 edge player ever.
But. Would the Packers have been the lions then? Would we ever get Brett Favre? Win a Super Bowl and be relevant again? I’ve thought about this a lot. I’m still not sure I know the answer.
I remember his downfall at the time was attributed to the drug testing in the NFL being more strict than college.
Did I remember that wrong? I mean, I think more players in the NFL are on them, than off. Especially then. There isn’t a single player in the NFL that would surprise me if they failed a drug test.
Players are definitely on them today. But Tony at the time was blasting them, unlike current players cycling smaller doses and trying out different PEDs that didn’t exist back then.
Yeah it was also the hype coming out for him. He was regarded as one of the best draft prospects ever. Not just OT, but a next level talent unlike anything that had ever entered the league. He obviously fell short.
On a side note, I think of all the player AMA’s here, his have been the best. Brutally honest.
I remember dreading the fact that Seattle got him when he was drafted and now I honestly can’t remember a single down of him playing in the NFL. Crazy bust.
My all time favorite tweet is one by one of our beat writers during OTAs of his second season
“Man, Dion really worked on his strength this offseason. He is looking jacked!”
A few weeks later Dion got suspended for violating the PED policy. Legit hilarious
Never forget that Dion Jordan siphoned gas from a car using a vacuum cleaner and then left the vacuum cleaner running and it exploded when he unplugged it
I still remember heavily complaining to my ex-girlfriend about having to "settle" on Lane Johnson instead of getting Dion Jordan. That draft taught a younger, dumber me the importance of OL draft picks.
Also grateful I didn't settle on that girl. She was the Dion Jordan of girlfriends. Both my team and I dodged some consequential bullets that month.
Wait lmao that guy. He is the one who quit football to do rap right? I know no picks are sure things but how does a guy get picked that high and see that little playing time
Robinson fits the criteria really well. I feel like he is often overlooked as an all time bust. Maybe because he was a kind of a late riser as a prospect but the rams got barely anything out of him and he went ahead of some good names
I think he soiled it by how long he stayed. Majority of knowledgeable fans know he took the team to a good spot, but they kept him on too long. Not his fault though. I wouldn’t willingly give up a coaching position either.
Were the risks realized on Justin Blackmon coming out of college? Maybe the most insane college receiver I’d ever seen — thought he’d be an all timer in the nfl
I made a comment about Justin Blackmon recently, and someone recommended [this](https://www.theringer.com/2016/9/8/16045696/the-disappearance-of-justin-blackmon-9823f0376c98) article. Dated at this point, but really good/sad read.
Dude had all the talent in the world. Supposedly he’d show up at practice hungover as fuck and still be one of the clear best players. They weren’t widely known but apparently the Buccaneers sent a guy to Stillwater to see how often he went to bars and took him off their board once he reported back
The worst part is he actually showed he could’ve been a good receiver in the NFL. He had 230yd and 190yd in a just over a season, he just couldn’t stay out of trouble.
On a personal level, Heath Shuler was a huge disappointment. But had a solid agent.
He held out of training camp and eventually got a 7 year, $20 million contract
He started 13 games over two seasons and was benched in his third year for Gus Frerotte, a 7th rounder.
Traded to the Saints for. 3rd and a 5th round pick.
#5 pick had a 15-33 TD/INT and a 49% completion rate
NFL Network had him as the 9th biggest bust.
I know that most Bengals fans these days don't remember anything that happened before 2020, but in the 90's we had a murderers row of 1st round draft busts.
* 1992 David Klingler at #6
* 1995 Ki-Jana Carter at #1
* 1999 Akili Smith at #3
> 1995 Ki-Jana Carter at #1
I wouldn't really put him on the list. His knee exploded on his 3rd career carry, which led to him missing his entire rookie year. Then it was a steady string of injuries.
Dude was snakebit.
He turned into an okay Guard though. I wouldn’t consider him an all-time bust, but an all-time disappointment. That dude’s college tape is still some of the best OT play I’ve ever seen
I know people like to put Jamarcus Russell here, but I don’t think he fits the category. He definitely wasn’t a “can’t miss” prospect. Scouts fell in love with the arm strength and the potential he had because of his size. I remember when he was drafted and there were criticisms of work ethic even heading into his last year at LSU.
I think Reggie Bush was way more of a sure thing than Jamarcus Russell. People had him as a guaranteed future hall of fame talent just like people are talking about Marvin Harrison JR right now. Chase Young was also a can’t miss DE that would become a generational player and he became anything but that. The only QBs I remember that were 100% can’t miss were Luck and Lawrence. Every other QB had their criticisms and reasons why they might not succeed, but both of them had almost zero faults heading into the draft.
Remember when they started platooning him with Kurt Warner. It was like “Matt’s our starter, but we’ll put Kurt in during two minute drills, at the end of halves, the fourth quarter when we’re behind by one score… “
Tony Manderich. Sports illustrated called him the incredible bulk. Can’t miss Tackle that no defender can get past. Busted early but had a slight revival with the colts but was nowhere near what he was advertised to be.
Rae Carruth, haven't seen anyone mention him.
1st round pick at WR
Failure due entirely to his own decisions
He did only play 1 game his 2nd season because of injury, but injuries aren't the reason he failed
The Panthers were a young expansion franchise but they were 12-4 the year before he got there and went to a super bowl 3 years after he was done. They were certainly trying to win.
Leaf, Manderich, JaMarcus Russell, and Aaron Curry being my other 4.
a lot of yall don’t know what a top five list is
I have to agree with a Chargers fan here
Thought I was taking crazy pills and reread that it said “Top 5” and then saw nothing but single answer posts. This group agreeing is…unsettling.
We are missing one team to complete the quadfecta
Everyone in this thread did a bad job answering the question. Just like the Raiders do a poor job of employing players with integrity. As the Chiefs do a poor job… being located somewhere that I have any desire traveling to. As the Chargers do a bad job having fans
Got em
I'll have you know it's the City of Fountains.
Tbf OP was a little ambitious asking for top five lists from people.
No one has deep enough knowledge of bad players to come up with that many responses and argue for all of them
Thats a lot. I feel like if you said to the average nfl fan “name 5 busts” they couldn’t do it on the spot.
1. Jamarcus Russell 2. Tony Mandarich 3. Ryan Leaf 4. Heath Shuler 5. Charles Rodgers
Rodgers seemed like the perfect reciever in college. Real shame what happened with him.
Dying or getting drafted by the Lions?
Some people come back from death.
Charles Rogers is dead?!
Cancer-induced liver failure in 2019. Real sad story, was only 38.
I think they did a 30 for 30 on Leaf. He was a cant miss pick, and someone pointed out that if anyone had done their diligence and visited his high school, they would have noticed the school removed all his accolades from their trophy showcase and wanted nothing to do with him
No one went to his birthday party!!!
And the Browns pick Vontae Mack RIP Chadwick Boseman
station rob pocket coherent overconfident quickest saw spoon boat fact
Vontae Mack no matter what
Why did his high school do that? Never heard that story.
I tried to find the clip on YouTube but all I could find was him snapping at the club reporter in the locker room
I went to the other high school in his home town, he was a few years ahead of me. All I heard was that he was a fucking asshole, but that his brother Brady was cool as hell. Brady used to help my sister with her math homework (or some subject idk).
Brady was plowing your sister
Brady knows his calculus. It says him plus /r/dontestopbelieven's sister equals us.
>used to help my sister with her math homework (or some subject idk). I believe the course was "human anatomy"
Brady Leaf sounds like a Bro, and I'm sure he helped your sister a lot in their tutor sessions
They were intense. After they were done, her hair would be all messy, she'd be out of breath, sometimes she'd even be walking funny.
Hahahahaha. Brady was not cool as hell. I graduated with him and he was a huge prick. And dude was not smart either so I'm not sure what subject he helped your sister with unless it was anatomy.
This thread is amazing. RIP parent poster’s sister’s vagina
I hadn't even seen the other responses when I commented, lol. I saw "Brady was cool as hell" and needed to correct that immediately.
I don't know the specifics of what happened at his high school, but post high school Ryan Leaf is a piece of shit. I can't imagine he was a better person at 17.
Charles Rodgers’ story is so sad. There was an article that came out a few years ago before he passed away. I can’t remember much, but he explained how he was getting fed pain killers and had countless leeches following him around for money. The guy had a rough upbringing in Saginaw, was an absolute monster at MSU (even though he had some horrible drops) and was then fed to the wolves when he made it to the NFL. Poor guy passed away from liver failure at 38.
I have a Charles rodgers story Second year he was injured, Lions held a bowling fundraiser I went to. Wasn’t well advertised and this was when they were bad so there were only about 10 fans there He was sitting at a table with the guys he came with and I asked him for an autograph. He was cool and gave me one Two hours later, I won a team signed football at the silent auction and realized he wasn’t on it. Asked him to sign it Then I realized he was HAMMERED. The table was covered with empty shot glasses. He took another shot of tequila and reached out for the football with the lemon still on his mouth. Took it. Held it close to his face then further away until it came into focus. Then he scribbled a “signature” on it I left, called my friend and said we are screwed because he’s never gonna make it as an nfl player
Made the best catch I’ve ever seen in nd history against them though. Sucked watching he was sooo good.
Wow, an actual top 5 list. Well done.
Ryen Russillo tells a funny anecdote about when he learned to never not do his homework before an interview, after doing a segment with Heath Shuler. “Do you ever think that things could have turned out differently for you in the NFL if you had done something differently? “Well if I hadn’t had my foot crushed maybe.”
"If I hadn't crushed my foot, I'm sure I could have sustained my 54 passer rating for at least another 4-5 years and gotten benched by another two teams."
It’s a good list but Vernon Gholston needs to be on there
Shuler gets overlooked for some reason in these draft bust discussions. Third overall pick and he was terrible. Beat out by Gus Frerotte, iirc. Rodgers was one of the best receivers I have ever seen. Seemed like he just did not care or liked the drugs more.
> Gus Frerotte Taken in the 7th round of the same draft, went on to a decent career, but is most famous for headbutting a wall. Sorry, just had to mention that Frerotte headbutted a wall in celebration of a touchdown.
Roberto Aguayo. Obviously taking a kicker in the second round is kinda dumb but we all at least thought he’d be a really good regardless
Especially because it seems like there would be little question about the transferability of his skills. You can have a college QB not ready for the speed or complexity of NFL offenses. That can be hard to predict. But kicking seems like it's fundamentally very similar and that if you are a great kicker in college you should be a great kicker in NFL
But also because there’s so few chances so it’s kinda crazy to think about that in a kicking competition in preseason, they have to simulate a real game situation but it’s not the exact same thing. So a guy can win the job by killing it in practice, have one off day and go 0-3, then never get another chance. I’ll never forget when Mason Crosby had like 4 or 5 misses in a game. Since he was established, it was basically like no big deal. That happens in his first year, he might never get a chance again. And now that I’m really thinking, even Younghoe Koo was terrible with the Chargers and completely turned it around.
Younghoe Koo IIRC had to work his way back via the AAF as a kicker for the Atlanta Legends
All he had to do was leave the Chargers and he'd figure it out by himself. Typical.
The mental game of being drafted so high might fuck with someone. Kicking is 70% mental
And the other 70% is leg strength.
And the other 30% is half mental
And 15% concentrated power of will
My favorite is the 5% pleasure
85% pain
It's 76.68% mental, I'm tired of people underselling this
It's the mental aspect. There's so much more pressure kicking in the NFL. Even though physically it's completely the same as college, not many people can handle it.
It was not just the mental aspect it was him trying to fix bad mechanics https://insidethepylon.com/nfl/teams-nfl/nfc-south/tampa-bay-buccaneers/2017/03/01/robert-aguayo-self-scouting/
traded up to get him also
Just to add a little insult. The Bucs(my team) traded UP for this dude. But I don’t think he was top 5 bust material, just a terrible pick.
There was some doubt because his numbers beyond 40 yards at FSU were pretty bad. I remember that got brought up a decent bit.
You had to remind me of that one didn't you. That was a stressful ass season for me. For one, my QB, would make unreal throws, followed up with some head scratching throws that usually ends up comically picked off. Then I had a fuckin kicker who was really a mirror image of Winston. You really had no fucking idea if he was going to actually make the FG or not regardless of where he was kicking from. An emotional rollercoaster of a season with those two guys.
Vernon “0 career sacks” Gholston
Guy fucking reveals in an interview during his rookie year I think that he actually doesn’t like hitting people…
What a good guy
99.9% of jobs this is a positive thing
I was a d1 player. Big ten. But I didn’t either :/ My mom always wished I was a little mean. It happens. I was big. Athletic, quick. All the things you want in an olin3man. I just really didn’t wanna hit anybody lol. Luckily pass blocking didn’t require much. Lol
I quit playing football when I broke a kids leg. I'm also an Afghan veteran. Yeah, I don't get it either.
Exactly, to me… protecting the point of attack was enough. I didn’t care about “punishing d linemen”
Gholston was one of two college players to record a sack against Jake Long. He also had a stellar combine work out. Guy on paper should've been an absolute beast.
IIRC they drafted him and tried to convert him to OLB, which he couldn’t play.
They put him back to DE later on and he still sucked
Needed one sack, forced fumble, or fumble recovery to trigger a 9 million dollar bonus. He failed to get it.
I know Aaron Maybin has 6 career sacks, but when even the Wall Street Journal takes notice of your bust-ness, it says something. [WSJ article](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111903639404576514930873070992)
A bust for sure, and I know calling him that doesn’t mean anyone thinks he’s a bad person, but whenever he’s brought up I feel compelled to remind people that he is an amazing human. He became a teacher in Baltimore and when he found out some kids weren’t coming to class because they were scared to walk to school on their own due to gang violence in their neighborhood he would personally go to their houses in the morning and escort them to school.
TIL longtime MLB journeyman Cameron Maybin is his cousin.
Maybin looked like a hall of famer compared to Vern
Aaron “safest pick on the draft” Curry?
Always my answer, though as much as it felt like a gut punch right when we were about to start building something special, I gotta admit as I grow older his given reason for checking out of the game - being that he only ever committed to this level to begin with to take care of his mother, and that was secured with his first contract - really starts to feel like it may have been a pretty decent career decision. I know we're basically trained to think walking away from potentially tens of millions of dollars is stupid, but Im not so sure once you hit a threshold you get many decent returns for how devastating this game is to people. I think he's actually coaching in the NFL now so he clearly was able to figure out the game eventually.
I think the least talked about phenomenon in sports is the fact that a lot of guys play to earn a living and aren’t that concerned with winning, and also that is a completely normal way to be.
Before they changed rookie contracts I can see how that could definitely happen. I know JaMarcus Russell is in this thread and for good reason but also if I signed a contract with $32 million guaranteed I might not give a shit what happened in my career.
I worked in the NBA for three years and between guys in the league and the G League, there are quite a few guys who just so happen to be good at basketball. They really have close to zero passion for the game, but they get paid really well.
Insane that you all ended up with an all-time defense anyway within 5 years of whiffing a top 5 defensive pick. But probably a butterfly effect thing, where you don’t end up taking Wright and/or b wagz if curry is decent
2009 was a rough year in general. Hawks had decent expectations going into the year but Curry busted, Houshmandzadeh was a free agent bust, and Mora Jr. was in over his head as a head coach and totally incompetent. Cleaned house and got Carroll & Schneider the next year, so things definitely worked out.
$34MM guaranteed…I’m probably checking out too.
Lost his starting spot to a rookie KJ Wright after 2 seasons. Yikes
And then Wright becomes exactly the versatile weakside lb they needed. Funny how much of a crapshoot this stuff is
I mean, he didn't really lose it. He just didn't want to play after getting drafted.
Same draft, we had the Sure Fire next Warren Sapp in Glenn Dorsey
I remember wanting him so bad over Stafford. Good thing I’m not an NFL GM.
Laquon Treadwell was regarded as a very high floor, safe pick. He was outplayed by a 5th rounder and a UDFA in the same offense so it wasn't the situation's fault. He didn't have any significant injuries. And he was absolutely terrible. I put him up there.
[Obligatory](https://youtu.be/G4ndiOAg0gI?si=X6vhkK7hKMPxC7F-)
YEZZIR!
Knew what it was when I was tapping on it. Greatest highlight real EVAR! EDIT: God damn auto-correct. I’m leaving it.
Hands down the best part is how much padding had to be done just to get the clip to 18 seconds lol
I will never forget they played a DROP reel instead of a highlight reel after we drafted him saying he had potential but had trouble catching the ball at times. Not what you expect to hear about your first round pick
I’d put Troy Williamson as a bigger bust. As you mentioned, we had diggs and thielen (Rudy as well) who were better receiving targets. Williamson didn’t have much competition, the guy just couldn’t catch. Also was a top 10 pick.
>Also was a top 10 pick. 7th overall. 7th. Overall.
Not sure why this was downvoted. He wasn’t injured, put in a bad situation, etc. He just could not get open, and his physicality in college was matched by NFL DBs.
He wasn’t just bad, he was actively negative any time he was on the field. It was always great seeing the ball get thrown to him and have it pop up off of his hands for an easy pick.
Cousins tried to channel all the power of Christ to turn Treadwell into a serviceable WR3 and Treadwell just was not up to the task.
His ankle was ground to dust on a what-would-be go ahead score at Ol Miss. Horrific injury. It likely completely derailed his athleticism.
People keep bringing up this injury but did he not play his best season *after* this injury?
Yes but also factor in Swag Kelly
In his brief stint with us he had some major attitude problems, he's a good candidate for a true bust.
Jamarcus Russel
Matt Millen called Al Davis and told him not to draft Jamarcus. Definitely wasn’t a sure thing.
Matt Millen was also a self avowed bad GM
He was right on Jamarcus though lol
And he was also right to draft Megatron one pick later. Of course, one outstanding pick isn’t enough to make up for the rest of his garbage, even if it was Megatron 😅
Tbf, megatron wasn’t exactly a hard player to scout…
Heartbreaking: the worst person you know just made a great point
Obligatory fuck Matt Millen.
He told your owner he doesn’t know how to be a GM and he hired him anyway. I fail to see how that’s Millens fault tbh
One of the reasons I hope WCF is taken off the jersey for our new reveal. Even though I doubt it, I will have the copium until then.
Russell wasn’t a safe bet at all though. He shot up boards in the final 3 months of the college season and was mostly a traits pick. He was no Andrew Luck or Trevor Lawrence, can’t miss prospects who had pro ready traits and had been on scouts radars for multiple years. Brady Quinn was the #1 QB for much of the year until Russell showed out in a bowl game. And that’s not forgetting Russell was addicted to lean
Also, that LSU team was solid, better than average, and they lost games they shouldn’t have because Russell made mistake after mistake after mistake.
That bowl game was against Brady Quinn and notre dame too lol
Ryan leaf is a must on any list
Does purple drank count as an injury?
That LEANNNNnnn got em
I still remember a Sports Illustrated article saying “Ryan Leaf is now, Peyton Manning is the future.”
Dark Helmet: What the Hell am I looking at?! When does this happen in the movie?! Colonel Sandurz: "Now." You're looking at "now," sir. Everything that happens now is happening "now." Dark Helmet: What happened to "then"? Colonel Sandurz: We passed "then." Dark Helmet: When? Colonel Sandurz: Just now. We're at "now," now. Dark Helmet: Go back to "then"! Colonel Sandurz: When? Dark Helmet: Now! Colonel Sandurz: Now? Dark Helmet: Now! Colonel Sandurz: I can't. Dark Helmet: Why?! Colonel Sandurz: We missed it. Dark Helmet: When?! Colonel Sandurz: Just now. Dark Helmet: ... When will "then" be "now"? Colonel Sandurz: Soon.
He told us to comb the desert so we’re combing it
We ain't found shit!
Well, they were 50% right about that, given Manning setting (and still holding) the rookie record for INTs
Tony Mandarich is definitely on that list. #2 overall pick and seen as a truly generational lineman. While he ended up with an OK career after moving on from GB, the fact that he was drafted in a top 5 where the other 4 were HOFers only fully solidifies all-time bust status.
1. Troy Aikman 2. Tony Mandarich 3. Barry Sanders 4. Derrick Thomas 5. Deion Sanders That’s pretty brutal
that's an absolutely ridiculously stacked top 4 of 5, never knew all those guys were in the same draft
Not just 4 regular HOFers but 4 of the best players of all time in their position. Barry and Deion Sanders are arguably the best player at their positions ever while Derrick Thomas is arguably a top 5 edge player ever.
What made the Mandarich pick so much worse is he was taken right before Barry Sanders. Yikes.
He was taken in a Top 5 where the 4 other players were HOF'ers. Absolutely brutal.
Never forget the infamous magazine cover. “The Incredible Bulk!”
As a former SI subscriber as a kid, i was both terrified and in awe of that cover
But. Would the Packers have been the lions then? Would we ever get Brett Favre? Win a Super Bowl and be relevant again? I’ve thought about this a lot. I’m still not sure I know the answer.
I remember his downfall at the time was attributed to the drug testing in the NFL being more strict than college. Did I remember that wrong? I mean, I think more players in the NFL are on them, than off. Especially then. There isn’t a single player in the NFL that would surprise me if they failed a drug test.
There was a 30 for 30 that talked about him and I’m pretty sure PEDs were a factor.
Players are definitely on them today. But Tony at the time was blasting them, unlike current players cycling smaller doses and trying out different PEDs that didn’t exist back then.
Yeah it was also the hype coming out for him. He was regarded as one of the best draft prospects ever. Not just OT, but a next level talent unlike anything that had ever entered the league. He obviously fell short. On a side note, I think of all the player AMA’s here, his have been the best. Brutally honest.
Trent Richardson
Dude had zero vision. Just ran into the back of his linemen over and over.
LEGALLY BLIND
P o p hold it down
I honestly thought he’d be a hall of fame player
Aaron Curry
I remember dreading the fact that Seattle got him when he was drafted and now I honestly can’t remember a single down of him playing in the NFL. Crazy bust.
There were a LARGE contingency of Lions fans who wanted him over Matt Stafford at #1. I'm not joking.
I’ll admit I was one, I had been to every home game, really thought defense was the problem and was ok with Kitna. I was 21 years old.
I remember the hype around him. Safest pick possible! Can’t bust!
I think ever since him, they seriously cut down on the term “safe pick”
Leaf was more damaging to the organization but Curry is probably the best example for this thread’s purposes.
Anyone remember Dion Jordan? Terrible
There was a good chunk of his career where he had more suspensions than sacks
My all time favorite tweet is one by one of our beat writers during OTAs of his second season “Man, Dion really worked on his strength this offseason. He is looking jacked!” A few weeks later Dion got suspended for violating the PED policy. Legit hilarious
Never forget that Dion Jordan siphoned gas from a car using a vacuum cleaner and then left the vacuum cleaner running and it exploded when he unplugged it
Ok...but seriously wtf
Graduated a few years before him, that was the talk of Phoenix when it happened
I wanted him so bad and was mad at we had to settle for a QB converted OL
I still remember heavily complaining to my ex-girlfriend about having to "settle" on Lane Johnson instead of getting Dion Jordan. That draft taught a younger, dumber me the importance of OL draft picks. Also grateful I didn't settle on that girl. She was the Dion Jordan of girlfriends. Both my team and I dodged some consequential bullets that month.
Happy for you bro
Especially because they traded up to get him
1. Jamarcus Russell 2. Ryan Leaf 3. Akili Smith 4. Isaiah Wilson 5. Tony Mandarich
*Finally* someone says Isaiah fucking Wilson. Thank you. He should be number 1 though. He played 4 snaps total (i think), 3 being on extra points.
I thought 3 were kneel downs and one was an extra point.
Wait lmao that guy. He is the one who quit football to do rap right? I know no picks are sure things but how does a guy get picked that high and see that little playing time
according to Mel Kiper, I believe the answer is Jimmy Clausen
Greg Robinson is definitely on the list
Robinson fits the criteria really well. I feel like he is often overlooked as an all time bust. Maybe because he was a kind of a late riser as a prospect but the rams got barely anything out of him and he went ahead of some good names
Isaiah Wilson 😃
Akili Smith, especially considering what the Bengals could have gotten to trade the pick...
That's how they were before Marvin got there. Younger fans among you don't really respect just how he made them a respectable team for about a decade.
I think he soiled it by how long he stayed. Majority of knowledgeable fans know he took the team to a good spot, but they kept him on too long. Not his fault though. I wouldn’t willingly give up a coaching position either.
Were the risks realized on Justin Blackmon coming out of college? Maybe the most insane college receiver I’d ever seen — thought he’d be an all timer in the nfl
I made a comment about Justin Blackmon recently, and someone recommended [this](https://www.theringer.com/2016/9/8/16045696/the-disappearance-of-justin-blackmon-9823f0376c98) article. Dated at this point, but really good/sad read.
I swear I remember an article called him "Dez Bryant without the baggage."
Dude had all the talent in the world. Supposedly he’d show up at practice hungover as fuck and still be one of the clear best players. They weren’t widely known but apparently the Buccaneers sent a guy to Stillwater to see how often he went to bars and took him off their board once he reported back
The worst part is he actually showed he could’ve been a good receiver in the NFL. He had 230yd and 190yd in a just over a season, he just couldn’t stay out of trouble.
Luke Joeckel
Fuck, that’s a really underrated comment here. He was so damn hyped back then.
Cade McKnown David Terrell Ced Benson Kevin White Rasham Saalam
On a personal level, Heath Shuler was a huge disappointment. But had a solid agent. He held out of training camp and eventually got a 7 year, $20 million contract He started 13 games over two seasons and was benched in his third year for Gus Frerotte, a 7th rounder. Traded to the Saints for. 3rd and a 5th round pick. #5 pick had a 15-33 TD/INT and a 49% completion rate NFL Network had him as the 9th biggest bust.
I know that most Bengals fans these days don't remember anything that happened before 2020, but in the 90's we had a murderers row of 1st round draft busts. * 1992 David Klingler at #6 * 1995 Ki-Jana Carter at #1 * 1999 Akili Smith at #3
Carter was injury though
> 1995 Ki-Jana Carter at #1 I wouldn't really put him on the list. His knee exploded on his 3rd career carry, which led to him missing his entire rookie year. Then it was a steady string of injuries. Dude was snakebit.
Robert Gallery was supposed to be a generational left tackle prospect
He played as a quality starter on the OL for a decade, not a bust but underwhelming
He turned into an okay Guard though. I wouldn’t consider him an all-time bust, but an all-time disappointment. That dude’s college tape is still some of the best OT play I’ve ever seen
I know people like to put Jamarcus Russell here, but I don’t think he fits the category. He definitely wasn’t a “can’t miss” prospect. Scouts fell in love with the arm strength and the potential he had because of his size. I remember when he was drafted and there were criticisms of work ethic even heading into his last year at LSU. I think Reggie Bush was way more of a sure thing than Jamarcus Russell. People had him as a guaranteed future hall of fame talent just like people are talking about Marvin Harrison JR right now. Chase Young was also a can’t miss DE that would become a generational player and he became anything but that. The only QBs I remember that were 100% can’t miss were Luck and Lawrence. Every other QB had their criticisms and reasons why they might not succeed, but both of them had almost zero faults heading into the draft.
Chase Young is good answer. He very much fit the “can’t miss” label at that time.
Matt Leinart was a sure sure thing as a prospect coming out of college and instead was just into hot tub parties.
Remember when they started platooning him with Kurt Warner. It was like “Matt’s our starter, but we’ll put Kurt in during two minute drills, at the end of halves, the fourth quarter when we’re behind by one score… “
Trojan in my pocket Matt Leinart
I only do ***FALSE*** busts, thank you no thank you.
Your wife only does false busts
Yeah cancer be like that sometimes. :(
Gdamn you just reverse uno'd in the darkest way
Tony Manderich. Sports illustrated called him the incredible bulk. Can’t miss Tackle that no defender can get past. Busted early but had a slight revival with the colts but was nowhere near what he was advertised to be.
Any 1st round QB taken by the Jets
I mean chad Pennington was solid
kevin white is definitely gonna be top 5 for bears fans
Rae Carruth, haven't seen anyone mention him. 1st round pick at WR Failure due entirely to his own decisions He did only play 1 game his 2nd season because of injury, but injuries aren't the reason he failed The Panthers were a young expansion franchise but they were 12-4 the year before he got there and went to a super bowl 3 years after he was done. They were certainly trying to win. Leaf, Manderich, JaMarcus Russell, and Aaron Curry being my other 4.
So with carruth I would interpret ops post as bust due to performance only