"I'll Take 'Draft Busts for Millions', Alex."

Draft busts. They are an "albatross" in the NFL. If a team can avoid drafting too many, then they can keep payroll low and win totals high.  If a team drafts too many then........


Pro Football Weekly touched on that very subject today. They questioned the "bust factor" in two highly rated players: Taylor Mays and Jason Pierre-Paul. 


These type of discussions are always raised about draft picks who have certain issues. 


It is difficult to know whether a draft pick will be a successful NFL player or not.

I believe that the teams that draft successfully understand how to use the players they draft. They find players with strengths that fit their system, and then try to minimize the players' faults.

A perfect example was Dwight Freeney. Being only 6' 1", he was viewed as having "bust potential" because taller offensive tackles with long arms could latch on to him. It was believed Freeney wouldn't have the size to get off of their blocks. The Colts drafted him and let him use his strengths, speed and leverage to become one of the top pass rushers in the league.

Busts happen more times than not because teams don't have the foresight to envision that draft pick's future role on the team. They can't go on measurables or hoping that the player will be able to make a drastic change. They have to know what this player is going to bring to the team based on something they have already seen.




Every Morning Quarterback by Aharon Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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Turning Over an Old Leaf

As the Draft draws near, Ryan Leaf’s name popped up in the news. He received ten years probation for breaking into an apartment to steal prescription drugs.

An unanimous choice for number one all-time Draft busts around the universe, Leaf has become nothing more than a cautionary tale. Being compared to Peyton Manning isn’t really fair to any player, but being selected right after him is criminal. I don’t know if anyone can really completely know the maturity of a 22-year-old man, and the Chargers made what was at the time a “no-brainer” selection of Leaf.

Reading about his continued downfall just reminded of the now infamous question that Bill Polian, General Manager of the Colts, asked both Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. “If we were to make you the No. 1 overall pick, what’s the first thing you would do?” Peyton answered that he would request a playbook so he could immediately begin learning the Colts offense.  Leaf remarked that he would want to take his friends to Vegas for one last fling. That was the deciding factor between Manning and Leaf.

Some people thought he would be a better quarterback than Peyton Manning.  Now he doesn’t have to worry about that anymore:  his only concern is becoming a better Ryan Leaf.

Every Morning Quarterback by Aharon Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Based on a work at www.everymorningqb.com. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.everymorningqb.com.