Potential 1st Round Busts

[Section 310]

Who are some of the players that would scare you if you were a GM making a final call in Round One of the Draft? Who are the high risk guys? My list is as follows:

1. Reggie Bush- The guy is small 5'11'' 200lbs. Can he take a pounding week after week? In the NFL he will not be able to outrun the DE and LB to the corner on a regular basis. Can he punch it up the gut? Finally, is he worth the risk when a team could pick up a Ferguson, Hawk, etc., and a quality RB in Round 2? I personally believe White will be the better RB in the NFL.

2. Vince Young- Assume for a second that he is every bit as talented as Michael Vick. Would Vick be worth a top 10 pick if he was in this year's draft? Some in ATL are critical of the team for not giving Schaub a chance to earn the job from Vick. Young's questionable ability to pass and poor wonderlic score have me hoping the Ravens can grab him.

3. DeAngelo Williams- Again, can a guy who is 5'8 and 200 lbs be an every down back?

4. Santonio Holmes- I love the Buckeyes, but does Holmes have the ability to be a #1 receiver? His size and speed seem more suited to the slot....an Alvin Harper type player. Not a bad pick in latter Round One for a team that already has an established WR.

5. Gabe Watson- Any time you hear about coaches that have to bench a guy as a motivational tool it is scary. Will the guy turn into a lazy tub-o-goo?

[Stripes]

I don't think Bush will bust, but I do think Young will. Young looks like the quentissential bust-to-be in my opinion, and I don't understand why he is even being discussed in the same breath as Matt Leinart or Jay Cutler. Williams is a question mark as well, but I usually don't give someone the bust label simply because of their size. I have the same apprehension about Holmes, he doesn't really have the look of a #1 receiver. I think Watson will be a good player.

[ArmyBengal]

It's funny because I said the same thing to a buddy about Young having bust potential and he was up in arms due to the fact he's a HUGE Texas fan.

If you listen to Merril Hoge on ESPN, (I don't know much about him) but he claimed Lienart should be a 2nd round pick and Young should be a day 2 pick. I like Lienart, so I think he's off on that one, but Young could go either way.

Young gets my vote !!!

WHODEY !!!

[Section 310]

I don't think Bush will bust, but I do think Young will. Young looks like the quentissential bust-to-be in my opinion, and I don't understand why he is even being discussed in the same breath as Matt Leinart or Jay Cutler. Williams is a question mark as well, but I usually don't give someone the bust label simply because of their size. I have the same apprehension about Holmes, he doesn't really have the look of a #1 receiver. I think Watson will be a good player.

You are right. I don't mean bust in the Maurice Clarett, Akili Smith, Ryan Leaf sense of the word, but rather a guy who is an average player that simply never becomes a difference maker. (Kinda like Justin Smith).

[HoosierCat]

My guesses:

1. Bush. I don't actually think he will be a bad player but he would have to be the second coming of OJ + Walter Payton + Curtis Martin + Jim Brown to live up to the IMHO absolutely ridiculous hype surrounding him. He will be labeled a bust by many simply because he gets taken No. 1 overall and will turn out not to be the best of all time.

2. Matt Leinart. Not sure he has the fire in the belly. Of course, similar things were said of Carson.

3. Bunkley. Think Big Daddy. He will be a good player and if, say, the Bengals took him at 24, he would be a good pick. But thanks to good workouts he will go higher than he ought to and will end up labeled a bust a la Justin Smith.

4. Any WR taken in the first half of round 1.

[Whur CHad At?]

This is fun. Here are some of my bust potentials....

There are a few..

1.Reggie Bush

2.Vince Young

3.Jason Allen-way, way, way over-hyped

4.Matt Leinart

5.Haloti Ngata

[TJJackson]

Ko Simpson

Leonard Pope

[Whur CHad At?]

hahah funny TJ...not

[TJJackson]

:-)

[Stripes]

Forgot to say who I actually think will bust (aside from those I mentioned before).

Manny Lawson - I don't think he has the size or the moves to succeed as an NFL defensive end or the instincts to be a linebacker. Personal apologies go out to TJ, Army, and Boomer.

LenDale White - Doesn't seem to be in great shape a la Clarett, and may have just benefited from the great USC offense around him.

[ArmyBengal]

Personal apologies go out to TJ, Army, and Boomer.

No offense taken... Everyone is entitled to their wrong opinion !!! Right back at ya !!!

Seriously though, you just never know...

WHODEY !!!

[turningpoint]

Matt Lienart.

[BlainThePain]

Who are some of the players that would scare you if you were a GM making a final call in Round One of the Draft? Who are the high risk guys? My list is as follows:

1. Reggie Bush- The guy is small 5'11'' 200lbs. Can he take a pounding week after week? In the NFL he will not be able to outrun the DE and LB to the corner on a regular basis. Can he punch it up the gut? Finally, is he worth the risk when a team could pick up a Ferguson, Hawk, etc., and a quality RB in Round 2? I personally believe White will be the better RB in the NFL.

2. Vince Young- Assume for a second that he is every bit as talented as Michael Vick. Would Vick be worth a top 10 pick if he was in this year's draft? Some in ATL are critical of the team for not giving Schaub a chance to earn the job from Vick. Young's questionable ability to pass and poor wonderlic score have me hoping the Ravens can grab him.

3. DeAngelo Williams- Again, can a guy who is 5'8 and 200 lbs be an every down back?

4. Santonio Holmes- I love the Buckeyes, but does Holmes have the ability to be a #1 receiver? His size and speed seem more suited to the slot....an Alvin Harper type player. Not a bad pick in latter Round One for a team that already has an established WR.

5. Gabe Watson- Any time you hear about coaches that have to bench a guy as a motivational tool it is scary. Will the guy turn into a lazy tub-o-goo?

I don't think DeAngelo Williams will bust. I actually think he's probably the safest pick at RB in the draft. He has outstanding vision like Barry Sanders and Ladanian Tomlinson have. IMO, vision is what counts the most for an NFL runningback.

My pick as a bust is Vince Young. Whenever anybody brings anything bad up about him, the analysts say "Well, he certainly got it done in college." Thats not a good enough excuse for me. I see an INT machine in the pros.

2nd bust would probably be Cromartie. I know thats probably going to piss some people off, but Cromartie just doesn't have enough experience to make me comfortable. Give me experience over physical attributes, anyday.

[turningpoint]

cromartie has too much passion to be a bust.

[Spor_tees]

I would have to say Ashton Youboty is my #1 pick to bust. After that I would guess Vince Young because he has so much hype coming out of college and what he did there. I do Agree that Lendale White could be a bust simply because he thinks he can "make" it in football because he is talented and doesn't have to work hard. NFL may mean "Not For Long" for Lendale.

[schweinhart]

Haloti Ngata

And I wonder if Super Mario is going to live up to the degree of hype that now surrounds him.

[Indycat]

J Allen DB - Will camoflage his injury well enough to get one big payday then fade into the sunset.

[WretchedOne]

kiwi

[BengalPappaw]

For TJ

Manny Lawson -- I'm trying to be consistent.

[kingwilly]

r1 Busts:

Jimmy Williams...good talent but lacks the discipline to be a good pro. I hope we do NOT take him.

James Joseph...inexperienced...has been flying up the board based on his workouts...running for scouts in different than covering Marvin harrison or Steve Smith.

Jay Cutler....I think he is overrated in a weak QB draft year...I look at him as a Heath Schuler pro career path.

Chad Greenway...part of a good Iowa Defense but will struggle mightily in the pro's. lacks relative speed and strength..

Laurence Maroney...considering the weak RB class, he is just overrated...he will be OK but not worthy a mid-r1 pick.

Vince Young...this ALL depends on where he goes...if he goes to Oakland, with thier run-gun style and good WR's then he'll be OK. If he goes to Tenny or NYJ he will bust out...thier O's are too technical, no run game and barely average WR's.

[San Antonio Bengal]

Any QB taken in round 1.

Leinart should be a second round pick. Vince Young was amazing in college, but the pro game is a different beast and much less suited to his style. He'd probably do better as a wide reciever than as a QB. I'd like to see VY prove me wrong tho. I'm not a fan of Texas football by any means, but he's a good, likeable guy. And most years, someone such as Jay Cutler wouldn't even enter the conversation, but this year he does because of the overall weakness of the QBs. If nothing else, Cutler already knows how to handle losing given his years at Vandy.

[derekshank]

I agree on Ngata being a bust. Some are saying he's not even the best DT in the draft anymore. I wouldn't want to take a flyer on him unless he fell to the latter part of the first round.

I'm hoping Lendale White is a bust... because I'm expecting the Steelers to take him to replace Bettis. he has the Bettis body.. but not the lateral moves that Bettis had. White will be good for one thing... the goalline. Not a bad player... but not a 1st rounder.

Other than that, I feel like the draft is pretty solid. Leinart and Young will be drafted too early... but not more so than Alex Smith last year. They will be fine.

[ArmyBengal]

I guess I'm in the minority about Lienart... I think the two things he has going for him are his poise in the pocket and his leadership abilities in the huddle. These two things are underappreciated leading up to the draft in my mind. His arm strength could be better, but overall, I think he will do very well in the pros. Let the Titans draft him, where he will be with Norm Chow and in a very similar offense to what the Trojans ran and I think he'll be fine.

No, I don't think he will have a good rookie year by any stretch based on the teams he may go to, but on another year or two, he will be right there. Eli had the same issues coming out his first year and look at him... Once again, in the minority...

WHODEY !!!

[Section 310]

FYI, from ProFootballTalk.com ( a site that I have read for the last year or so and which always seems to be able to scoop ESPN)....Jimmy Williams scares me. He and Henry could end up robbing a Taco Bell after practice some day.

STOCK HAS DROPPED FOR SIX HIGH-PROFILE PLAYERS

Although there have not yet been any final-week disclosures or developments causing one or more of the draft-eligible players with name recognition to plummet this weekend, a broader look at the past several months reveals six guys who have seen their prospects for getting drafted early decline.

This information is based on our discussions with league sources, and thus is subject to the standard possibility that someone is knocking a guy in the hopes of making sure he's available at a lower round. In the end, where the guy is drafted is where the guy is drafted. (How freakin' profound.)

1. Mathias Kiawanuka, DE, Boston College.

Viewed by some as a top-five pick prior to the 2005 season, Kiawanuka will now be lucky to be selected on day one of the draft. The perception is that Kiawanuka had his "ass whupped" at the Senior Bowl, and that he showed no leg strength or intensity. Three teams that we know of have him rated as a fourth-rounder.

2. Jimmy Williams, CB, Virginia Tech.

Williams is regarded by some league insiders as a "very bad dude" -- and not in the good way. We've heard that some teams have removed him completely from their boards.

3. Claude Wroten, DT, LSU.

We reported on Friday, citing three league sources, that Wroten tested positive at the combine. Although the teams know about the result, no one else in the media has made the connection between the positive result and the negative impact on his draft stock.

Wroten also was arrested on marijuana charges earlier this year, but the charges were dropped. To compound the problem, we're told that some teams were not enamored by his interviewing skills.

4. Derek Hagan, WR, Arizona State.

Before the 2005 season, he consistently was viewed as one of the top receivers in the country. His inconsistent hands are putting him in the round three range now.

5. Dominique Byrd, TE, USC.

Byrd was seen as one of the top two tight ends before the 2005 season. But a "brutal" pro day workout and a "lackadaisical attitude" have fueled a fall.

6. LenDale White, RB, USC.

For anyone who has been living under a rock or, even worse, on top of one, White is this year's poster child for how not to handle the run-up to the draft. A hamstring injury was disclosed when he showed up for his pro day workout. He managed a total of 15 reps in the 225-pound bench press.

At one point, White was a possible top-ten pick. Now, he'll be lucky to hear his name called by dinner time on Saturday. White's likely response?

"Mmmm. Dinner."

[scott91575]

I think V. Young, of course I thought Ryan Leaf was better than Peyton Manning. Since then I never trust myself.