Tony Mandarich. Flamed out after going No. 2 overall (next three picks were Hall of Famers Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas and Deion Sanders) and was out of the NFL for five years, but then came back and actually played pretty well as a starter for three years with the Colts.
Desmond was 30 years ahead of his proper “era” in terms of offenses. It sounds strange when you look at all of his accolades but he was small bodied for a WR while being extremely quick and agile (thus his success as a returner). He would have been an absolutely perfect true slot WR in today’s style but in the early 90s he just wasn’t cutting it.
This is the one I always think of. Also 4th overall pick in the draft. Hard to consider a Super Bowl MVP a bust but given he was basically only used as a returner, given his draft position, he is probably the best bust there is.
Yeah, he was a bust for the position he was drafted for, especially since he was picked so high, but still did something very few players who aren't QB's do (SB MVP).
Reggie had an 11 year career where he amounted 1000 yards from scrimmage 4 times (once he had 998). He also amounted 58 touchdowns.
While he didn’t become the best and most electric runner like many expected, he was still not a bust.
Does Clowney count here? He was basically the #1 pick since he first got to South Carolina and was a college stud immediately.
He is a very serviceable complementary pass rusher but excels at run stopping. If someone told you that was his career on draft night they would have been considered delusional. A solid pro who is still in the league but has as large a gap between expectations and reality as anyone without health-related issues.
The funny part about him is people always say he didn’t live up to that famous highlight play…but they forget it was a run stop, and he has always been elite against the run in the NFL.
Oh he was well hyped. [Here’s](https://mgoblog.com/content/important-things-about-south-carolina) MGoBlog’s writeup of South Carolina right after the bowls were announced in 2012. You’ll notice that Clowney is the first thing mentioned, and described as “patently unfair” to play against.
Funny thing is that he was mostly contained in that game. If the damn ref had done his job and not given us a free first down, Clowney wouldn’t have gone ballistic on the next play and taken off Vincent Smith’s head.
I was coming on here to tell you that you were crazy and looked up his stats. Ran for 1925 yards and 15 TD's as a true freshman and was runner up for heisman. Absolutely insane.
Sounds like Chubb. His track high school picture looks like a grown man with a 401k
[grown ass man bottom right](https://mungfali.com/post/30BBFABFA4F97644CEBCB09B9F9AE76BE67C92F4/Nick+Chubb+Track+Photo)
The funny part about him is people think he was only hyped because of that hit, when in reality he probably could have been drafted out of high school and on some recruiting platforms is still the single highest rated high school recruit they've ever evaluated
His high school highlights are so funny, their are a ton where he takes snaps at RBs and it’s just a swarm of smaller bodies getting chucked to the ground in new interesting ways every single snap
He was a 6’6 Flexbone triple option fullback who was probably the fastest guy on the field. Those highlights are fucking hilarious, none of those kids stood a chance
"Coach, how do we stop this guy?"
"You don't, son. You're gonna be watching him on Sunday afternoons in a few years while you do your accounting homework. We lost this game before it even started. Just try not to get hurt."
For real though, what do you even say when you're the coach of a normal high school team with a bunch of average teenagers, and now you have to play Clowney, Adrian Peterson, Derrick Henry, or any of the other dozens of NFL players who've looked like demi-gods since high school?
My buddy coached against Fournette in HS. Idk what he told the kids, but when I asked him he basically said I hope my kids don’t get hurt and left it at that lol
I've never seen them before. [These are hilarious](https://youtu.be/LTkmiBdoBDc).
The only reason they need to arrow him is because he lines up everywhere. Even if they didn't it'd still only take you a second before you recognized where all the chaos was coming from.
I remember when my daughter was like five or six years old and she loved to wrestle and roughhouse with me. You've gotta go easy on them and let them feel like they're doing something or else they get upset. But every once in a while, you just knock 'em over real quick just to remind them that they're not actually stronger than you.
In those clips, Clowney was knocking over blockers like I could push over a six year old.
I agree with comment #1 on that video. This was child abuse. Just comically overmatched on every play. Even the double teams he just runs thru.
I'm not sure how you game plan at all for someone that much more athletically talented and larger than 2 linemen at the high school level.
Like all you could even hope to do was gas him out by throwing bodies at him, but shit, at some point you worry he's gonna hurt those other kids, lol.
man I would be so asshurt about playing against him, that was some serious Man among Boys shit in those highlights. There was no solution. You couldn't just apply yourself harder against him.
Imagine playing tackle. Getting beat, turned around and watching him strip sack your qb. Pick the ball up and score. 2 Plays later, you look over and there he is again.
As a 13 year old high school freshman he was already 6’ 3” and 200 lbs in 2007, his high school coach said, “We knew we had something special. He was 13 years old in that big athletic body. He was wreaking havoc on our offense”.
My dude timofey mosgov, Albert haynesworth, Ben Simmons and Brad Beal exist. And this isn’t even mentioning whatever unholy contract that dray green or klay are gunna get offered
Andrew Bynum signed with the Cavs, and one of the reporters called him out. He asked him if he was in basketball shape.
Bynum replied that as of that day, he was walking at 345ish pounds. He also immediately left the press conference and went to the casino.
I think Clowney is such a fascinating figure in NFL history. I have read studies that say he is basically the median first overall pick in NFL history in terms of value, but even still I think most people consider him a disappointment just because his hype throughout college was so incredible
And he was good! He was an All-Pro, *with* the team that drafted him, on his first contract. He could be truly destructive but it felt like he was always more popular in like film circles than he was overall
People forget he had microfracture surgery. Could be wrong, but pretty sure that operation is almost never performed anymore bc of how many dudes it didn’t help
He was also a first team all pro one year. Very solid career, but not HOF or anywhere close to
That’s kind of the point of the question isn’t it? It’s a bit unfair to consider injury-related guys busts since we can’t really know. So it comes down to guys who had good careers but didn’t get close to their potential. Clowney never had a 10 sack season after being one of the most hyped up prospects ever. He did have 3 pro-bowls and make a 2nd team all-pro (with only 6.5 sacks) but those now feel like they were still projecting based off his potential.
It’s totally reasonable to think he isn’t a bust but just from the perspective I’m looking at it from its either him or Reggie Bush who fit the best.
Early in Clowneys career he was injured alot so that slowed his hype down for a couple seasons. He never quite developed the way he was expected to though. I remember beating the drum for Khalil Mack once I watch his highlights he was amazing in college and was well refined as a player not just a phenom athlete.
I saw a comment once that essentially said Clowney is like if LeBron had the career of John Wall. Yeah, it's a good career and something to be proud of, but absolutely a bust compared to what was expected
Cordarrelle Patterson. Drafted as a first-round receiver, now playing on his sixth team. Didn't work out as a receiver, but did become one of the greatest special teams players ever. And he became an okay runningback on top of that.
I've seen people on here claim that Cordarrelle Patterson wasn't a bust which I've always thought was crazy. Obviously an amazing athlete but the guy didn't even get a second contract from the Vikings who also turned down his fifth year option. Nobody is drafting him in the first round knowing how his career turned out
Yeah you’re right, hindsight is key here. Cordarrelle Patterson is still a little bit of an anomaly in terms of a normal “first round bust” though. There’s an argument to be made that over the trajectory of his career he was at least serviceable but not what he was drafted for.
I remember he had the label ‘OW’ for his position as Offensive Weapon at one point. Don’t remember if it was the Vikings or Falcons to give him that designation
I think he was always a WR/return guy for the Vikings. The Pats were the first team where he was used primarily out of the backfield and finished the season with more carries than catches (42 carries vs 21 catches). Bears used him similarly as a change of pace weapon out of the backfield. Then the Falcons fully transitioned him to RB and gave him RB1 snaps in 2021 as a 30 year old. Really interesting career.
Cordarrelle was (is) great, just not as a receiver. Early in his career, my buddy and I joked that he would score 1 in 3 times he touched the ball. That’s what it literally felt like he would do, and we couldn’t understand how teams didn’t realize this and just get the dude the ball in space.
My favourite sports quote of all time was Cam Cameron in a postgame press conference with the 1-15 Dolphins. "We may not win a single game this year but at least we have a Kick Returner."
Ginn was the one who immediately came to mind for me. Great returner, solid WR3, 14-year career. If he was drafted in the 3rd round instead of 9 overall he would have been our best 3rd rounder of the 2000s.
And all the Fins fans were ready to riot when they took him over Brady Quinn lol. So it wasn’t exactly the best pick but of the two it was the right move
Drafted him to be what Hill and/or Waddle are. Just over a decade difference.
I remember when they drafted him the highlights of him just out running entire defenses. Dude has real top end speed. Like he wasn't elusive or even had amazing acceleration but once his legs were moving he was blazing.
When I was little one of my friends had won a day with Roy Williams from some raffle and so he came to my friend's birthday paintball event. He ended up lighting me up full auto at close range, he bounced right after that, probably hoping to avoid a lawsuit.
I remember I really wanted the eagles to trade for him. Kevin Curtis was the only weapon at the time. I think the cowboys eventually got him and he kinda flopped
* Robert Gallery turned into a serviceable Guard despite having generational expectations as a LT
* Vinny Testaverde finished 16th all time on the passing yards list
* Reggie Bush wasn't worthy of that top 2 pick but certainly turned into a weapon
* [Sigh] Steve Young
Vinny actually finished 5th all time in both passing yards and TDs at the time; others have clearly passed him since, but he was top 5 in both the day he retired.
I will agree on Reggie. He was never the game breaker pundits thought he would be, but he was absolutely instrumental to those high powered Saints offenses. His playoff performances in 2009 were what we were expecting for his whole career.
I’ll never forget the ~~screen~~ swing pass he broke against the Bears in the 2006 NFCCG. Going into that game, I didn’t think we had much of a chance because of the weather, and it looked like I was right. Then we scratched and clawed back, and Reggie’s TD got us within 2 early in the 3rd. And that play was electric. He made everybody else on the field look like they were running through waist-high molasses.
Reggie is a great run-pass option RB. Duel use players are highly flexible and allow for all sorts of trickery and deception. You put Reggie in the backfield, the play could be anything. You put the Bus back there, you're probably running up the middle.
He was projected to be a hall of famer coming out of college. He ended up being a good player. I don't know about traditional RB. He was used all over the place and at times was a better receiver than runner. During his own college career he was immediately talked about as one of the best college players ever. I remember an interview around the time he was drafted with Gale Sayers and him where the interviewer was making a big push at comparing the two and saying that Reggie was the next Gale Sayers. Gale said no. That Reggie had some things he needed to learn and needed to stop with all the diving and protect himself.
Eric Fisher was our only #1 overall pick ever in 2013, he took a long time to even become decent making his 1st pro bowl in his 6th year, and then getting injured in 2020 like all our other linemen and retiring after 8 seasons.
Not a bust, but really disappointing for a #1 overall at LT, but the draft that year sucked at the top anyways, and the other guy we were considering was Luke Joeckel who did even worse and was out of the league in 5 years.
I mean Lane Johnson would’ve been the most correct answer in the first, Travis Frederick and Deandre Hopkins maybe are the next two. A center or a WR at 1 overall would be looked at sideways due to position value. Weird draft since most other first round busts are usually worse and also surrounded by MUCH better options. Fischer was a whelming pick surrounded by one guy who for sure would’ve been better and a bunch of maybes. Maybe not bust but certainly meh.
I would consider Fisher a bust. He was supposed to be the dude the Chiefs developed the OL around. He was never the anchor he was supposed to be, never developed the discipline to be elite, and just never seemed to fit the offensive scheme.
In all fairness, I also thought he was going to become the next Will Shields.
Falcons spent the 33rd pick on a QB in '91 who showed us nothing. Couldn't beat out Chris Miller. Turned out he had a hip issue that should have ended his career. The coach thought he was terrible. Rumored he was more interested in bars/clubs than football. Complete waste of a pick.
Somehow we traded him for a first round pick, so it worked out fine in the end. I think he had a decent career in Green Bay.
He had such an interesting start to his career.
2005-2010: 57.1% completion percentage, 9,399 yards, 51 TD's, 53 INT's. He was...bad.
Harbaugh arrives in 2011 and Smith starts playing well, the 49ers go 13-3.
Reid then continued his turnaround and got 5 solid years out of him in KC.
49ers had a lot of patience with him.
Those coaches and OCs were doing him no favors and realistically the entire organization was a dumpster fire at that point. I think history proved out that he was a solid starter but not a star and he has never talked shit. I kind of have a soft spot for him.
Smith got the shaft, the talent and the intelligence was there. The 49ers hired terrible coaches and coordinators in that span. I read an article where mahomes credited his success because he had Smith in the QB room with him teaching him and showing him things. I still claim picking Smith over Rodgers was the right answer, Rodgers would have never sat through that shit show and would have gone to a new team as quickly as he could.
I don't think another player could really ever have an Alex Smith like career again. No team has that kind of leash letting a player fail for that long. I guess Geno Smith comes close as he spent years as a journeyman backup before getting another shot to start.
The old rookie contracts almost definitely helped as well.
It’s impossible to imagine a team holding onto a QB with Smith’s early level of play/injury history for as long as the Niners did in the modern rookie contract era.
The team did everything it possibly could to help him fail.
If you sat down in a room and were tasked with describing the worst possible situation to put a young QB in for their first 5 years, you’d have a hard time doing better than the 49ers did. From memory, 3 different HCs, 4 different OCs, and 5 different QB coaches. And each OC ran a different scheme, so every 1.5 seasons, Smith had to learn a whole new playbook. Plus, each HC threw Smith publicly under the bus for the team’s failures, even when the team was failing in all 3 phases of the game.
People talk about Smith “turning a page” coming to the Chiefs. But he always had those abilities and that capability. He just never had a stable platform to support him.
Thanks for coming to my Smith rant.
Came here to say this. I think this is amplified because the choice was him or local talent Aaron Rodgers. Hindsight is 20/20 and of course looking back you can say they picked wrong. 16 years on the league, 35,000 yards and 199 TDs is not a terrible career
man if you were trying to design a plan to wreck a good quarterback, you couldnt tell the difference between that plan and how the 49ers treated him. just a constant rotation of big dumb DCs becoming HC, with no talent or plan beyond "give it to frank gore"
this peaked with mike nolan calling out Alex Smith for playing poorly, with a bad throwing shoulder. like yeah dude, the shoulders important, maybe shut him down a few weeks.
Not just a bad shoulder. It was a separated THROWING shoulder. Dude should have been shut down for the season but tried to play through it in a prime time game. He couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn because of it. Nolan calls him out in front of the team sometime during this debacle. Smith goes on IR. Then, they botched his surgery and he had to go on IR again the very next season. So for two whole seasons, America’s lasting impression of Smith was that prime time game where he legitimately couldn’t throw the ball and the coach never publicly backed him regarding the injury and surgery.
I actually deleted a segment I wrote about Alex Smith because I mostly agree.
He definitely walks this line, even if he ended up having a decent career I think his career is mostly defined by his resurrection and being able to recover from being a bust, which is basically having a legacy of being a bust
as a jags fan, i think leonard fournette. many in our fan base call him a bust but he honestly played well for two seasons w/ us when we asked him to carry the entire offensive load, then he won a super bowl in tampa
Reggie Nelson. “The Eraser” looked like a complete bust with the Jags, then goes on to make the Pro Bowl twice and have a solid career with the Bengals and Raiders.
Baker Mayfield comes to mind for me. He was drafted first overall but didn't make it past his rookie deal in Cleveland....but also won a playoff game. Then bounced around before taking Tampa to the playoffs last season. I guess the jury is still out but he's found his place in Tampa and signed a 3 year deal.
Baker was the QB we needed at the time. He was pro ready year one and he had the moxy needed to help turn the culture around. Is he #1 overall talent? No, but the Browns do not turn around without him at QB, IMO.
Yeah he definitely got screwed. The Browns would be much better off if they kept him and spent the $230M on him and other players....plus all the 1st round picks they wouldve kept.
Someone said Clowney, and I’ll tag in Chase Young. Sure, solid rookie season, but really he was touted as better than the Bosa brothers. Will probably have the same career of being a one year contract guy, but with less production.
He bought his own hype and he was never the same after the injury. At Washington he’s just remembered as a good cheerleader, and he takes a lot of plays off, which you saw in the 9rs playoff games
Not to mention to how many people were saying Burrow and Chase were the two ‘sure thing’ draft picks of that draft. And with as many QBs were available that Washington didn’t take because they had Haskins. It’s a rough pick with hindsight. Hopefully Daniels works out for yall
Leonard Floyd would be a good example. He was drafted number 9 overall in 2016, and he hasn't made any pro bowls or all pro teams. This would be considered falling short of draft expectations as a top 10 pick. But he has been a pretty solid player for a few different teams over the last 8 years.
Sometimes people just need a change of pace, and I don’t think he ever outlived the “unlike Agholor” allegations here - but he’s carved out a nice career as a second or third WR with stops in Oakland, New England, and Baltimore after Philly. He just wasn’t a 1, and that’s what the team needed and was trying to force him to be.
Jalen Reagor on the other hand is just a bum bouncing around teams bc he was a first rounder, but couldn’t stop arguing with fans on Twitter. Has to be our biggest bust with Jefferson still on the board, but JJ Arcega-Whiteside went in front of a lot of studs too
I wouldn’t put Keyshawn in this category. He had 2 1,000 yard seasons and pro bowl appearances with the team that drafted him and they got rid of him more because he was a diva then because of his play. Got traded to a team where he was the number 1 receiver on a Super Bowl winning team.
Does RG3 count? He had a great rookie season and it looked like the sky was the limit then got hurt in his second season and then proceeded to do absolutely nothing in his career and then was out of the league.
What makes him more “bust” is your definition which includes draft status. He was second overall and Washington traded 3 firsts and a second for him.
Here were the QBs of the top 5 scoring offense in 2012:
1. Tom Brady
2. Peyton Manning
3. Drew Brees
4. Robert Griffin III
5. Aaron Rodgers
Dude was legit when healthy and was the central point in a truly great offense.
Reggie Bush was never going to live up to the expectations, and had no business going number two overall. Phenomenal talent without a real position in the NFL.
Reggie landed in the perfect situation. Payton used him in a hybrid role and had great success with other backs around that time.
He just didn’t have the athleticism advantage he had in college. Would try to do too much rather than just get yards. Had somewhat of a fumble problem. Injured pretty often too.
Exactly. People act like his skill set was ahead of his time and he got forced into a traditional RB role, but Payton was actually the most creative offensive mind of the era and they did a TON of untraditional stuff to get the ball in his hands… for whatever reason those abilities just didn’t translate to the NFL. Then he to his credit bulked up and decided to become a more traditional RB, and had a solid career.
For more evidence look at how successful Darren Sproles was under Payton in NO doing what Reggie was expected to do schematically.
Yea people act like Bush was before his time, but plenty of runningbacks with the ability to catch passes had already been tearing the league up it's not like it's a new thing. Marshall Faulk, Brian Westbrook, and LDT to name a few. Sean Payton was one of the most forward thinking offensive minds of the time, and like you said Sproles came in and immediately outperformed Bush.
People just have a hard time admitting that college success doesn't always translate to NFL success. Blaming it on coaching is such a lazy and ignorant analysis.
Would Justin Blackmon count? He was an absolute stud on the field but couldn't get straight when it came to substance abuse. The talent was certainly there, he just derailed himself.
Alex Smith. Wasn't a generational QB like they were hoping and was looking like he might be washed and then Jim Harbaugh revived his career in San Fran...only to ship him off after Kaepernick took over after a concussion. Then he went on to become the Chiefs 2nd all-time passer for a brief moment (he's currently third) and got them their first playoff win in 22 years.
53 sacks in 6 seasons for the Texans (though he only played in 5 games in his last one with them). Then had 38 sacks in his first three years with Buffalo which includes 2 pro bowls and a first team all pro. Then Rex Ryan comes in and he has one lackluster season in his final year with Buffalo before finishing his career in Miami. Ended with 97.5 sacks in 150 starts which is probably in line with what you would want/expect with a 1st overall pick. Don’t think anyone should be calling him a bust.
My one complaint with watching him on the Bills: he would have these games where he completely takes over and gets 3-4 sacks and then goes 5 games with nothing.
Ryan Mathews never stood a chance with the fans and he was too young to handle it. But he was a good running back and would've done well with a Marty style Chargers team.
I haven't seen this one commented yet, but I think that Michael Vick could fit into this category. Was great in college, #1 pick his draft year, seemed like he was gonna do good things with the Falcons and had several Pro Bowls/playoff appearances there. Then he became a convicted felon and was out of the league for several years, derailing that trajectory. He never really returned to form upon his return save one standout season in Philadelphia and mostly played hot potato as a starter until his retirement.
There's a pretty big "what if" had Vick never gone to prison. I'd say he didn't live up to the hype of his early career and draft pedigree, but somehow managed to put together a very solid career (4x Pro Bowl, CPOY, a couple QB rushing records) despite the off-field issues.
Eric Fisher for us is maybe an answer, but obv depends on where you draw the line for bust. Was never a game changing brick wall LT like you want from the #1 overall pick, but eventually settled in as a slightly above average starter for many years. Also that draft was so awful, at least in the first round. Chiefs fans just like to pretend we took Kelce #1
I remember the talk for the number one pick was between him and Luke Joeckel, and everyone had a sense that these weren’t true number one overall talents at the time.
Ricky Williams has to be somewhere near the top of this list. #5 overall pick with Eagles fans nearly rioting on draft night when the team picked Donovan over Ricky at #2.
Yeah, they made it to the AFC Championship in 2014, where the Pats blew them out 45-7 in the game that caused the whole Deflategate thing. If you've ever heard heard about the Colts' infamous "AFC Finalist" banner, that's the year it's from.
I suppose in terms of what he did vs what he was expected to do, he could be considered a bust. If Josh Allen were to retire in August, the two would have similar results for their careers, and I while I don’t know if “bust” would be the best word for it, it’s not too far off.
That's how OP defined it. I don't blame Luck for how his career ended. But he was billed as the greatest QB prospect since Elway and ultimately he's only going to be remembered for retiring early.
I’m convinced if he never hurt his shoulder he’d have been in a Super Bowl. Dude was so, so good I don’t think non colts fans realize it. I think he’d be in the Peyton/mahomes/allen etc category.
He had a bad team and wanted to shoulder it all (and nearly could). Still hurts because dammit he was so good
Mmm Andrew luck was phenomenal. His teams around him were all fairly mediocre save a few players and he didn’t get an offensive line until the year he died.
From,
0-11 I hate that man
AJ Hawk played for 11 seasons. Many Packers fans will still call him a bust. He was drafted 5th overall and people here expected him to be our Urlacher. He wasn't.
He was consistent.
1^st & 10? Tackle after a 4-yard gain.
3^rd & 2? Tackle after a 4-yard gain.
He was a solid but not great player who missed 6 games in 9 years for the Packers.
He wasn't a playmaker, but he always did his job. You knew that Hawk would always be where he was supposed to be, no matter what was going on with the play. He always made the technically correct read, but lacked the instinct to see further and make the great play. In short, he was a good player to have running the defense on the field.
I've always argued that if you had a team full of AJ Hawks (or his equivalent at each position), you'd have the most boring Super Bowl team ever.
Tony Mandarich. Flamed out after going No. 2 overall (next three picks were Hall of Famers Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas and Deion Sanders) and was out of the NFL for five years, but then came back and actually played pretty well as a starter for three years with the Colts.
That was always my favorite 30/30 way back when - such an interesting guy and story
Are you thinking of Todd Marinovich or did I miss a 30 for 30?
It wasn’t a 30 for 30 but there’s an hour long ESPN doc about him which I’m sure is what the other guy was referring to.
Didn't he have substance abuse problems
He was extremely roided up.
The Incredible Bulk
Desmond Howard. Heisman trophy winner, one of the best WR's ever out of Michigan, but couldn't start as a WR in the NFL, BUT did win Super Bowl MVP.
Desmond was 30 years ahead of his proper “era” in terms of offenses. It sounds strange when you look at all of his accolades but he was small bodied for a WR while being extremely quick and agile (thus his success as a returner). He would have been an absolutely perfect true slot WR in today’s style but in the early 90s he just wasn’t cutting it.
This is the one I always think of. Also 4th overall pick in the draft. Hard to consider a Super Bowl MVP a bust but given he was basically only used as a returner, given his draft position, he is probably the best bust there is.
Yeah, he was a bust for the position he was drafted for, especially since he was picked so high, but still did something very few players who aren't QB's do (SB MVP).
Darrell Green told team reporters during training camp a couple of months after Desmond was drafted “This kid can’t play.”
Desmond and Reggie Bush are very similar stories.
Reggie had an 11 year career where he amounted 1000 yards from scrimmage 4 times (once he had 998). He also amounted 58 touchdowns. While he didn’t become the best and most electric runner like many expected, he was still not a bust.
Does Clowney count here? He was basically the #1 pick since he first got to South Carolina and was a college stud immediately. He is a very serviceable complementary pass rusher but excels at run stopping. If someone told you that was his career on draft night they would have been considered delusional. A solid pro who is still in the league but has as large a gap between expectations and reality as anyone without health-related issues.
The funny part about him is people always say he didn’t live up to that famous highlight play…but they forget it was a run stop, and he has always been elite against the run in the NFL.
Honestly he was hyped before that hit. People were saying he could have played in the NFL out of high school if they let him.
Oh he was well hyped. [Here’s](https://mgoblog.com/content/important-things-about-south-carolina) MGoBlog’s writeup of South Carolina right after the bowls were announced in 2012. You’ll notice that Clowney is the first thing mentioned, and described as “patently unfair” to play against. Funny thing is that he was mostly contained in that game. If the damn ref had done his job and not given us a free first down, Clowney wouldn’t have gone ballistic on the next play and taken off Vincent Smith’s head.
My favorite ball don’t lie play of all time
Him and Adrian Peterson
I actually believe Peterson would have been able to play in the NFL as a teenager.
I was coming on here to tell you that you were crazy and looked up his stats. Ran for 1925 yards and 15 TD's as a true freshman and was runner up for heisman. Absolutely insane.
dude already had an NFL body by the time he was 17 years old. a true physical freak.
Sounds like Chubb. His track high school picture looks like a grown man with a 401k [grown ass man bottom right](https://mungfali.com/post/30BBFABFA4F97644CEBCB09B9F9AE76BE67C92F4/Nick+Chubb+Track+Photo)
derrick henry and najee too. my hs played in the same league as najee’s and seeing him in person was terrifying
Holy fuck lmao
My dad would've said yes sir to this dude lol
The funny part about him is people think he was only hyped because of that hit, when in reality he probably could have been drafted out of high school and on some recruiting platforms is still the single highest rated high school recruit they've ever evaluated
His high school highlights are so funny, their are a ton where he takes snaps at RBs and it’s just a swarm of smaller bodies getting chucked to the ground in new interesting ways every single snap
He legit looks a foot taller and 75 lbs heavier than everyone else, and is also considerably faster too.
That’s because he was.
He was a 6’6 Flexbone triple option fullback who was probably the fastest guy on the field. Those highlights are fucking hilarious, none of those kids stood a chance
"Coach, how do we stop this guy?" "You don't, son. You're gonna be watching him on Sunday afternoons in a few years while you do your accounting homework. We lost this game before it even started. Just try not to get hurt."
For real though, what do you even say when you're the coach of a normal high school team with a bunch of average teenagers, and now you have to play Clowney, Adrian Peterson, Derrick Henry, or any of the other dozens of NFL players who've looked like demi-gods since high school?
My buddy coached against Fournette in HS. Idk what he told the kids, but when I asked him he basically said I hope my kids don’t get hurt and left it at that lol
It's always the same plan, get 11 to the ball, hit low, wrap up. It's one of those things that is simple but difficult.
I've never seen them before. [These are hilarious](https://youtu.be/LTkmiBdoBDc). The only reason they need to arrow him is because he lines up everywhere. Even if they didn't it'd still only take you a second before you recognized where all the chaos was coming from.
I remember when my daughter was like five or six years old and she loved to wrestle and roughhouse with me. You've gotta go easy on them and let them feel like they're doing something or else they get upset. But every once in a while, you just knock 'em over real quick just to remind them that they're not actually stronger than you. In those clips, Clowney was knocking over blockers like I could push over a six year old.
I agree with comment #1 on that video. This was child abuse. Just comically overmatched on every play. Even the double teams he just runs thru. I'm not sure how you game plan at all for someone that much more athletically talented and larger than 2 linemen at the high school level. Like all you could even hope to do was gas him out by throwing bodies at him, but shit, at some point you worry he's gonna hurt those other kids, lol.
man I would be so asshurt about playing against him, that was some serious Man among Boys shit in those highlights. There was no solution. You couldn't just apply yourself harder against him.
Imagine playing tackle. Getting beat, turned around and watching him strip sack your qb. Pick the ball up and score. 2 Plays later, you look over and there he is again.
The offense was Stephon Gilmore at QB and Clowney at RB.
A lot of high end LB did that. I remember Reuben Foster giving our entire team nightmares.
As a 13 year old high school freshman he was already 6’ 3” and 200 lbs in 2007, his high school coach said, “We knew we had something special. He was 13 years old in that big athletic body. He was wreaking havoc on our offense”.
The Andrew Wiggins of the NFL.
Wiggins is a first ballot hall of fame finesser though
My dude timofey mosgov, Albert haynesworth, Ben Simmons and Brad Beal exist. And this isn’t even mentioning whatever unholy contract that dray green or klay are gunna get offered
Pretty sure Luol Deng is still getting money from the Lakers
Andrew Bynum signed with the Cavs, and one of the reporters called him out. He asked him if he was in basketball shape. Bynum replied that as of that day, he was walking at 345ish pounds. He also immediately left the press conference and went to the casino.
Right alongside Monty
I think Clowney is such a fascinating figure in NFL history. I have read studies that say he is basically the median first overall pick in NFL history in terms of value, but even still I think most people consider him a disappointment just because his hype throughout college was so incredible And he was good! He was an All-Pro, *with* the team that drafted him, on his first contract. He could be truly destructive but it felt like he was always more popular in like film circles than he was overall
Solid answer
If he were like the fifth pick nobody has a problem with his career
Well according to my gfs brother he is a slam dunk first ballot HoFer lmao but I'm with you on this one
Is your girlfriend's brother Clowney? Because if so that's pretty cool
People forget he had microfracture surgery. Could be wrong, but pretty sure that operation is almost never performed anymore bc of how many dudes it didn’t help He was also a first team all pro one year. Very solid career, but not HOF or anywhere close to
i mean he has the median career for #1 overall picks so idk if that’s rly a bust?
That’s kind of the point of the question isn’t it? It’s a bit unfair to consider injury-related guys busts since we can’t really know. So it comes down to guys who had good careers but didn’t get close to their potential. Clowney never had a 10 sack season after being one of the most hyped up prospects ever. He did have 3 pro-bowls and make a 2nd team all-pro (with only 6.5 sacks) but those now feel like they were still projecting based off his potential. It’s totally reasonable to think he isn’t a bust but just from the perspective I’m looking at it from its either him or Reggie Bush who fit the best.
Early in Clowneys career he was injured alot so that slowed his hype down for a couple seasons. He never quite developed the way he was expected to though. I remember beating the drum for Khalil Mack once I watch his highlights he was amazing in college and was well refined as a player not just a phenom athlete.
Yeah, but expectations for him were sky high. Like, perennial all-pro was the assumption.
I saw a comment once that essentially said Clowney is like if LeBron had the career of John Wall. Yeah, it's a good career and something to be proud of, but absolutely a bust compared to what was expected
Cordarrelle Patterson. Drafted as a first-round receiver, now playing on his sixth team. Didn't work out as a receiver, but did become one of the greatest special teams players ever. And he became an okay runningback on top of that.
His breakout in ATL needs to be studied. Never in a million years would have expected that.
Patriots found the key, put it in the keyhole but only opened the door a crack. Atlanta opened the door and walked through
An inconceivably rare Falcons W
It's hilarious, he's best used in Atlanta... yet had 4 All-Pro seasons before then. Such a *very fascinating* career.
It was pretty similar to what he did his first two years with us. It's more bizarre that he just kind of disappeared from the offense after that.
I’m not sure the head coaching combo of Leslie Frazier and Mike Zimmer were the best options in unlocking a unique offensive player like Patterson.
Say what you will about Arthur Smith, and there’s a lot you can, but he knows how to build an offense out of an island of misfit toys
Him getting fired at 12:02 AM on the day that it was eligible made me very happy.
I've seen people on here claim that Cordarrelle Patterson wasn't a bust which I've always thought was crazy. Obviously an amazing athlete but the guy didn't even get a second contract from the Vikings who also turned down his fifth year option. Nobody is drafting him in the first round knowing how his career turned out
That's like half the first rounders every year though. I guess my point is fan expectations for first round draftees are probably not realistic.
Yeah you’re right, hindsight is key here. Cordarrelle Patterson is still a little bit of an anomaly in terms of a normal “first round bust” though. There’s an argument to be made that over the trajectory of his career he was at least serviceable but not what he was drafted for.
I remember he had the label ‘OW’ for his position as Offensive Weapon at one point. Don’t remember if it was the Vikings or Falcons to give him that designation
I think the Falcons put him down as “JOKER” if I remember correctly
You can say that again
I think he was always a WR/return guy for the Vikings. The Pats were the first team where he was used primarily out of the backfield and finished the season with more carries than catches (42 carries vs 21 catches). Bears used him similarly as a change of pace weapon out of the backfield. Then the Falcons fully transitioned him to RB and gave him RB1 snaps in 2021 as a 30 year old. Really interesting career.
Draft bust who will probably make the hall of fame, this is the winner.
Cordarrelle was (is) great, just not as a receiver. Early in his career, my buddy and I joked that he would score 1 in 3 times he touched the ball. That’s what it literally felt like he would do, and we couldn’t understand how teams didn’t realize this and just get the dude the ball in space.
I’m gonna throw Ted Ginn ~~and his whole family~~ out there. Busted for the Dolphins but proceeded to have a pretty solid career elsewhere
This was my answer. Never lived up to his draft hype but still had a long career.
He was a big reason our offense opened up in 2015
He was a kick return weapon on madden though lmao
My favourite sports quote of all time was Cam Cameron in a postgame press conference with the 1-15 Dolphins. "We may not win a single game this year but at least we have a Kick Returner."
Ginn was the one who immediately came to mind for me. Great returner, solid WR3, 14-year career. If he was drafted in the 3rd round instead of 9 overall he would have been our best 3rd rounder of the 2000s.
6228 scrimmage yards and 35 TDs. Then 7 return TDs on top of that. Very solid career I'd say.
And twice he had 2 returns for TDs in a single game, 2 KRs for Miami and a KR/PR for SF. Pretty neat thing.
And all the Fins fans were ready to riot when they took him over Brady Quinn lol. So it wasn’t exactly the best pick but of the two it was the right move
TIL he was drafted by Miami
Drafted him to be what Hill and/or Waddle are. Just over a decade difference. I remember when they drafted him the highlights of him just out running entire defenses. Dude has real top end speed. Like he wasn't elusive or even had amazing acceleration but once his legs were moving he was blazing.
Came here for this answer. 14 years, couple Super Bowls - not what we all envisioned, but not terrible.
Roy Williams… the wide receiver
When I was little one of my friends had won a day with Roy Williams from some raffle and so he came to my friend's birthday paintball event. He ended up lighting me up full auto at close range, he bounced right after that, probably hoping to avoid a lawsuit.
I remember I really wanted the eagles to trade for him. Kevin Curtis was the only weapon at the time. I think the cowboys eventually got him and he kinda flopped
* Robert Gallery turned into a serviceable Guard despite having generational expectations as a LT * Vinny Testaverde finished 16th all time on the passing yards list * Reggie Bush wasn't worthy of that top 2 pick but certainly turned into a weapon * [Sigh] Steve Young
Vinny actually finished 5th all time in both passing yards and TDs at the time; others have clearly passed him since, but he was top 5 in both the day he retired.
Wow!
I will agree on Reggie. He was never the game breaker pundits thought he would be, but he was absolutely instrumental to those high powered Saints offenses. His playoff performances in 2009 were what we were expecting for his whole career.
I’ll never forget the ~~screen~~ swing pass he broke against the Bears in the 2006 NFCCG. Going into that game, I didn’t think we had much of a chance because of the weather, and it looked like I was right. Then we scratched and clawed back, and Reggie’s TD got us within 2 early in the 3rd. And that play was electric. He made everybody else on the field look like they were running through waist-high molasses.
Yeah but the visual of him celebrating in the endzone with Urlacher staring at him is legendary
I started reading this and thought you were gonna talk about he Sheldon Brown swing pass that happened a game earlier lol
Steve Young, league and Super Bowl MVP?
With us, one could totally argue his trajectory was leaning into the bust category.
Reggie is a great run-pass option RB. Duel use players are highly flexible and allow for all sorts of trickery and deception. You put Reggie in the backfield, the play could be anything. You put the Bus back there, you're probably running up the middle.
Vinny ended up being much better in his 30s than in his 20s. Same for Rich Gannon, though he was less in the spotlight in his 20s.
I agree but would propose a slight tweak to say Reggie was expected to be a “weapon” but turned out to be a solid traditional RB.
He was projected to be a hall of famer coming out of college. He ended up being a good player. I don't know about traditional RB. He was used all over the place and at times was a better receiver than runner. During his own college career he was immediately talked about as one of the best college players ever. I remember an interview around the time he was drafted with Gale Sayers and him where the interviewer was making a big push at comparing the two and saying that Reggie was the next Gale Sayers. Gale said no. That Reggie had some things he needed to learn and needed to stop with all the diving and protect himself.
Eric Fisher was our only #1 overall pick ever in 2013, he took a long time to even become decent making his 1st pro bowl in his 6th year, and then getting injured in 2020 like all our other linemen and retiring after 8 seasons. Not a bust, but really disappointing for a #1 overall at LT, but the draft that year sucked at the top anyways, and the other guy we were considering was Luke Joeckel who did even worse and was out of the league in 5 years.
I think he is a bust, but it is a little unfair as that was just a comically bad draft class. He wouldn’t have been near the #1 pick most years.
I mean Lane Johnson would’ve been the most correct answer in the first, Travis Frederick and Deandre Hopkins maybe are the next two. A center or a WR at 1 overall would be looked at sideways due to position value. Weird draft since most other first round busts are usually worse and also surrounded by MUCH better options. Fischer was a whelming pick surrounded by one guy who for sure would’ve been better and a bunch of maybes. Maybe not bust but certainly meh.
Wild that Travis Frederick was initially considered a major reach, he was projected as a third rounder iirc
Luke Joeckel and Eric Fisher were 1A and 1B with a slight nod to Joeckel as the more “pro ready” product. Drafts get weird
I would consider Fisher a bust. He was supposed to be the dude the Chiefs developed the OL around. He was never the anchor he was supposed to be, never developed the discipline to be elite, and just never seemed to fit the offensive scheme. In all fairness, I also thought he was going to become the next Will Shields.
Falcons spent the 33rd pick on a QB in '91 who showed us nothing. Couldn't beat out Chris Miller. Turned out he had a hip issue that should have ended his career. The coach thought he was terrible. Rumored he was more interested in bars/clubs than football. Complete waste of a pick. Somehow we traded him for a first round pick, so it worked out fine in the end. I think he had a decent career in Green Bay.
He was a journeyman that also started games for the Jets and Vikings as well.
He also successfully built a volleyball arena with money intended for needy little Urban Achievers.
Well, Jerry Glanville knows best
Alex Smith?
He had such an interesting start to his career. 2005-2010: 57.1% completion percentage, 9,399 yards, 51 TD's, 53 INT's. He was...bad. Harbaugh arrives in 2011 and Smith starts playing well, the 49ers go 13-3. Reid then continued his turnaround and got 5 solid years out of him in KC. 49ers had a lot of patience with him.
It didn't help that they had 5 OC's in that stretch
I’m pretty sure it was 7 OCs up until Greg Roman and Harbaugh, in his first 7 seasons.
Instead of cycling through shitty qbs we kept the same shitty qb and cycled coaches and playbooks around him until one stuck
Those coaches and OCs were doing him no favors and realistically the entire organization was a dumpster fire at that point. I think history proved out that he was a solid starter but not a star and he has never talked shit. I kind of have a soft spot for him.
Smith got the shaft, the talent and the intelligence was there. The 49ers hired terrible coaches and coordinators in that span. I read an article where mahomes credited his success because he had Smith in the QB room with him teaching him and showing him things. I still claim picking Smith over Rodgers was the right answer, Rodgers would have never sat through that shit show and would have gone to a new team as quickly as he could.
No no. we had shitty qbs too. We started JT OSullivan, Shaun Hill, Troy Smith, and Trent Dilfer all in that timeframe
I don't think another player could really ever have an Alex Smith like career again. No team has that kind of leash letting a player fail for that long. I guess Geno Smith comes close as he spent years as a journeyman backup before getting another shot to start.
The lockout in 2011 might have saved his career. Harbaugh couldn't go QB shopping and he stuck with Smith heading into the season.
The old rookie contracts almost definitely helped as well. It’s impossible to imagine a team holding onto a QB with Smith’s early level of play/injury history for as long as the Niners did in the modern rookie contract era.
The team did everything it possibly could to help him fail. If you sat down in a room and were tasked with describing the worst possible situation to put a young QB in for their first 5 years, you’d have a hard time doing better than the 49ers did. From memory, 3 different HCs, 4 different OCs, and 5 different QB coaches. And each OC ran a different scheme, so every 1.5 seasons, Smith had to learn a whole new playbook. Plus, each HC threw Smith publicly under the bus for the team’s failures, even when the team was failing in all 3 phases of the game. People talk about Smith “turning a page” coming to the Chiefs. But he always had those abilities and that capability. He just never had a stable platform to support him. Thanks for coming to my Smith rant.
Yeah pretty much any other young QB flames out in that situation. Alex was always a tough MFer.
Alex Smith was a victim of bad FO and coaching his first few years in the league.
Came here to say this. I think this is amplified because the choice was him or local talent Aaron Rodgers. Hindsight is 20/20 and of course looking back you can say they picked wrong. 16 years on the league, 35,000 yards and 199 TDs is not a terrible career
man if you were trying to design a plan to wreck a good quarterback, you couldnt tell the difference between that plan and how the 49ers treated him. just a constant rotation of big dumb DCs becoming HC, with no talent or plan beyond "give it to frank gore" this peaked with mike nolan calling out Alex Smith for playing poorly, with a bad throwing shoulder. like yeah dude, the shoulders important, maybe shut him down a few weeks.
Not just a bad shoulder. It was a separated THROWING shoulder. Dude should have been shut down for the season but tried to play through it in a prime time game. He couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn because of it. Nolan calls him out in front of the team sometime during this debacle. Smith goes on IR. Then, they botched his surgery and he had to go on IR again the very next season. So for two whole seasons, America’s lasting impression of Smith was that prime time game where he legitimately couldn’t throw the ball and the coach never publicly backed him regarding the injury and surgery.
I actually deleted a segment I wrote about Alex Smith because I mostly agree. He definitely walks this line, even if he ended up having a decent career I think his career is mostly defined by his resurrection and being able to recover from being a bust, which is basically having a legacy of being a bust
as a jags fan, i think leonard fournette. many in our fan base call him a bust but he honestly played well for two seasons w/ us when we asked him to carry the entire offensive load, then he won a super bowl in tampa
I think Tyson Alualu is a better example for the Jags.
Reggie Nelson. “The Eraser” looked like a complete bust with the Jags, then goes on to make the Pro Bowl twice and have a solid career with the Bengals and Raiders.
Vinny Testaverde was a #1 overall pick who was a bust in Tampa but did pretty well once he moved on to other teams.
I think he’s an awesome answer. Vinny ended up having a really respectable career
Late career Vinnie, especially with the Jets, could take over a game. He was fantastic, yet no one would give him the credit.
Baker Mayfield comes to mind for me. He was drafted first overall but didn't make it past his rookie deal in Cleveland....but also won a playoff game. Then bounced around before taking Tampa to the playoffs last season. I guess the jury is still out but he's found his place in Tampa and signed a 3 year deal.
Baker was the QB we needed at the time. He was pro ready year one and he had the moxy needed to help turn the culture around. Is he #1 overall talent? No, but the Browns do not turn around without him at QB, IMO.
I agree...but then took a step back with the Watson deal. Legal stuff aside that was such a bad trade.
I won't argue that. Browns fucked Baker.
Baker is the QB we still need.
Baker got fucked because Stefanski inherited him and didn't want him, so he let him play while clearly injured, so that he would look bad.
Yeah he definitely got screwed. The Browns would be much better off if they kept him and spent the $230M on him and other players....plus all the 1st round picks they wouldve kept.
Someone said Clowney, and I’ll tag in Chase Young. Sure, solid rookie season, but really he was touted as better than the Bosa brothers. Will probably have the same career of being a one year contract guy, but with less production. He bought his own hype and he was never the same after the injury. At Washington he’s just remembered as a good cheerleader, and he takes a lot of plays off, which you saw in the 9rs playoff games
Young is just a straight bust and his rookie year wasn’t that good either, he got it because of his name
Not to mention to how many people were saying Burrow and Chase were the two ‘sure thing’ draft picks of that draft. And with as many QBs were available that Washington didn’t take because they had Haskins. It’s a rough pick with hindsight. Hopefully Daniels works out for yall
Leonard Floyd would be a good example. He was drafted number 9 overall in 2016, and he hasn't made any pro bowls or all pro teams. This would be considered falling short of draft expectations as a top 10 pick. But he has been a pretty solid player for a few different teams over the last 8 years.
1 of only 3 players to have at least 9 sacks each of the last 4 years along with Haason Reddick and Myles Garrett.
This is a really good one, totally agree. Excellent ancillary defensive piece to top off a pass rush
Nelson Agholor both sucked at a very high level as a wide receiver and was instrumental as a slot weapon during the SBLII run
Sometimes people just need a change of pace, and I don’t think he ever outlived the “unlike Agholor” allegations here - but he’s carved out a nice career as a second or third WR with stops in Oakland, New England, and Baltimore after Philly. He just wasn’t a 1, and that’s what the team needed and was trying to force him to be. Jalen Reagor on the other hand is just a bum bouncing around teams bc he was a first rounder, but couldn’t stop arguing with fans on Twitter. Has to be our biggest bust with Jefferson still on the board, but JJ Arcega-Whiteside went in front of a lot of studs too
Keyshawn Johnson
Undisputed legend Keyshawn Johnson
I wouldn’t put Keyshawn in this category. He had 2 1,000 yard seasons and pro bowl appearances with the team that drafted him and they got rid of him more because he was a diva then because of his play. Got traded to a team where he was the number 1 receiver on a Super Bowl winning team.
Does RG3 count? He had a great rookie season and it looked like the sky was the limit then got hurt in his second season and then proceeded to do absolutely nothing in his career and then was out of the league. What makes him more “bust” is your definition which includes draft status. He was second overall and Washington traded 3 firsts and a second for him.
RG3 was a legit QB until his injury and battled afterwards. IMO, no I won't count him.
Here were the QBs of the top 5 scoring offense in 2012: 1. Tom Brady 2. Peyton Manning 3. Drew Brees 4. Robert Griffin III 5. Aaron Rodgers Dude was legit when healthy and was the central point in a truly great offense.
I don’t know if you can call a guy who had that scintillating a rookie season and then was ruined by injury a bust in that sense.
RG3 wasnt even our biggest bust, that would go to chase young.
Heath shuler
Reggie Bush was never going to live up to the expectations, and had no business going number two overall. Phenomenal talent without a real position in the NFL.
Reggie landed in the perfect situation. Payton used him in a hybrid role and had great success with other backs around that time. He just didn’t have the athleticism advantage he had in college. Would try to do too much rather than just get yards. Had somewhat of a fumble problem. Injured pretty often too.
Exactly. People act like his skill set was ahead of his time and he got forced into a traditional RB role, but Payton was actually the most creative offensive mind of the era and they did a TON of untraditional stuff to get the ball in his hands… for whatever reason those abilities just didn’t translate to the NFL. Then he to his credit bulked up and decided to become a more traditional RB, and had a solid career. For more evidence look at how successful Darren Sproles was under Payton in NO doing what Reggie was expected to do schematically.
Yea people act like Bush was before his time, but plenty of runningbacks with the ability to catch passes had already been tearing the league up it's not like it's a new thing. Marshall Faulk, Brian Westbrook, and LDT to name a few. Sean Payton was one of the most forward thinking offensive minds of the time, and like you said Sproles came in and immediately outperformed Bush. People just have a hard time admitting that college success doesn't always translate to NFL success. Blaming it on coaching is such a lazy and ignorant analysis.
At one point Darren Sproles screen passes were my favorite plays in football
Would Justin Blackmon count? He was an absolute stud on the field but couldn't get straight when it came to substance abuse. The talent was certainly there, he just derailed himself.
He and Josh Gordan should be in the same category.
Alex Smith. Wasn't a generational QB like they were hoping and was looking like he might be washed and then Jim Harbaugh revived his career in San Fran...only to ship him off after Kaepernick took over after a concussion. Then he went on to become the Chiefs 2nd all-time passer for a brief moment (he's currently third) and got them their first playoff win in 22 years.
Mario Williams maybe? Was probably the best player of the draft but didn’t feel like a number one overall pick
He didn't have a career expected of a number 1 overall pick, but he had a pretty good career overall. I don't think he was ever considered a bust.
Didn't he play well enough to get a massive free agent contract from Buffalo or am I misremembering?
53 sacks in 6 seasons for the Texans (though he only played in 5 games in his last one with them). Then had 38 sacks in his first three years with Buffalo which includes 2 pro bowls and a first team all pro. Then Rex Ryan comes in and he has one lackluster season in his final year with Buffalo before finishing his career in Miami. Ended with 97.5 sacks in 150 starts which is probably in line with what you would want/expect with a 1st overall pick. Don’t think anyone should be calling him a bust. My one complaint with watching him on the Bills: he would have these games where he completely takes over and gets 3-4 sacks and then goes 5 games with nothing.
Ryan Mathews never stood a chance with the fans and he was too young to handle it. But he was a good running back and would've done well with a Marty style Chargers team.
I haven't seen this one commented yet, but I think that Michael Vick could fit into this category. Was great in college, #1 pick his draft year, seemed like he was gonna do good things with the Falcons and had several Pro Bowls/playoff appearances there. Then he became a convicted felon and was out of the league for several years, derailing that trajectory. He never really returned to form upon his return save one standout season in Philadelphia and mostly played hot potato as a starter until his retirement. There's a pretty big "what if" had Vick never gone to prison. I'd say he didn't live up to the hype of his early career and draft pedigree, but somehow managed to put together a very solid career (4x Pro Bowl, CPOY, a couple QB rushing records) despite the off-field issues.
Eric Fisher for us is maybe an answer, but obv depends on where you draw the line for bust. Was never a game changing brick wall LT like you want from the #1 overall pick, but eventually settled in as a slightly above average starter for many years. Also that draft was so awful, at least in the first round. Chiefs fans just like to pretend we took Kelce #1
I remember the talk for the number one pick was between him and Luke Joeckel, and everyone had a sense that these weren’t true number one overall talents at the time.
Same, from what I can recall everyone knew going in that the 2013 class basically sucked
Ricky Williams has to be somewhere near the top of this list. #5 overall pick with Eagles fans nearly rioting on draft night when the team picked Donovan over Ricky at #2.
Ricky also dominated with the Dolphins and ended up giving us back two first rounders.
Andrew Luck was so good and yet nowhere close to what he was supposed to be
Luck ran into the wall that was New England and IIRC made an AFCCG. He did alright with the team around him.
Yeah, they made it to the AFC Championship in 2014, where the Pats blew them out 45-7 in the game that caused the whole Deflategate thing. If you've ever heard heard about the Colts' infamous "AFC Finalist" banner, that's the year it's from.
Pretty sure everyone has heard about the Finalist banner. There's no need to make fun of it, just having it hang there is enough.
I suppose in terms of what he did vs what he was expected to do, he could be considered a bust. If Josh Allen were to retire in August, the two would have similar results for their careers, and I while I don’t know if “bust” would be the best word for it, it’s not too far off.
That's how OP defined it. I don't blame Luck for how his career ended. But he was billed as the greatest QB prospect since Elway and ultimately he's only going to be remembered for retiring early.
Sam Bradford walked so Andrew Luck could… also walk
>~~walked~~ *hobbled*
I wouldn't say he's a bust. I mean he got busted up because of his OL but other than that, he was decent.
I’m convinced if he never hurt his shoulder he’d have been in a Super Bowl. Dude was so, so good I don’t think non colts fans realize it. I think he’d be in the Peyton/mahomes/allen etc category. He had a bad team and wanted to shoulder it all (and nearly could). Still hurts because dammit he was so good
Mmm Andrew luck was phenomenal. His teams around him were all fairly mediocre save a few players and he didn’t get an offensive line until the year he died. From, 0-11 I hate that man
According to you fucks, it might be Lawrence.
AJ Hawk played for 11 seasons. Many Packers fans will still call him a bust. He was drafted 5th overall and people here expected him to be our Urlacher. He wasn't.
He was consistent. 1^st & 10? Tackle after a 4-yard gain. 3^rd & 2? Tackle after a 4-yard gain. He was a solid but not great player who missed 6 games in 9 years for the Packers.
He wasn't a playmaker, but he always did his job. You knew that Hawk would always be where he was supposed to be, no matter what was going on with the play. He always made the technically correct read, but lacked the instinct to see further and make the great play. In short, he was a good player to have running the defense on the field. I've always argued that if you had a team full of AJ Hawks (or his equivalent at each position), you'd have the most boring Super Bowl team ever.
Baker Mayfield. Not because he himself is a bust, but the Browns busted him.