Michigan's Great Track Record: Only One NFL Draft Bust?
With the NFL Draft Combine taking place this week, there's been a lot of talk about the all-time biggest NFL Draft busts.
Unlike a certain other B1G school in our state, I would argue that Michigan's track record in NOT producing NFL Draft busts is pretty darn good. If you draft a Wolverine, there's an excellent chance he'll have a career at or above his draft spot.
I would argue that there's only been one true NFL Draft bust from U-M: Trezelle Jenkins. He was drafted in the first round in 1995 (31st overall), but only appeared in nine NFL games over three seasons.
Aside from that, our NFL Draft record is excellent. So rest assured, NFL: If you take any of the 14 guys at the combine, you'll get what you draft for.
Tree!
fern.
South Park.
That Tom Brady guy has a ways to go in my opinion.
This would be much more compelling with some data or evidence to support it rather than just pointing out one bust. You say the track record is great, but present no pieces of that track record.
My opinion is that there's only been one true draft bust. I'm inviting others to offer opinions that agree or disagree.
Because a well-defined bust is very important.
(Sorry ... I'll show myself out ...)
Okay, fair enough. Does it have to be a first round pick to be considered for a bust? Lower rounds tend to have some expectation of hit-or-miss. Like is Adrian Arrington a bust (6th round)? Terrance Taylor (4th round)?
6th round picks are crapshots just to make the team.
This is a bad thread and you should feel bad about it....
akin to Michigan is the best...discuss
The leaders and best.
without doing any research or providing any data to show whether that was true or not? Ok.
What about David Terrell who was drafted 8th overall?
who got da bomb ass d?
Only nine TDs and 128 receptions over four seasons.
I would put Terrell as a huge bust. I would put Braylon as a huge bust also. 1 really good season, but otherwise, he did nothing in the league. I expected him to be a star for years, never happened.
Braylon had a weird career - didn't he have one excellent year? Albeit with the Browns? He was also fairly solid for the Jets for a year or two. He had an up and down career but I don't know if he falls into bust territory...
Terrell on the other hand...
Barely 2 TDs per season and approximately 2 receptions a game for a top 10 pick WR? That's an enormous bust.
As a Bears fan, I can definitely attest to him being a bust. No doubt about it.
But you're a bears fan, so I hate you anyway.
Working from memory:
The first two busts that came to mind are Terrell and Braylon.
Desmond didn't exactly perform to expectations.
How many running backs disappointed? I can't recall where Jamie Morris was drafted, but his NFL career didn't match up to his Michigan career.
Anthony Thomas won Offensive Rookie of the year as I recall, but I'm not sure he did much after that.
The QBs all seemed to have careers that matched where they were selected.
Desmond did win a Superbowl MVP
Super bowl MVP for sure. He didn't have a huge impact in the passing game, but was a legend on special teams. I would not consider him a bust.
For his third team, solely as a return man. He was the 4th overall pick, and best year as a receiver was 40 receptions and 3 TDs. He was a bust saved only by his return ability, which only really featured after he was cut by Washington.
I get the argument for him being a bust as a receiver prospect, but as an NFL football player with a Super Bowl MVP there is no way you can call Desmond a bust. He is forever enshrined in a club of the elite of the elite. 44 players in NFL history can call themselves Super Bowl MVPs. Desmond had a significantly long career and was the best player in the ultimate game. We have had our busts but I will never consider Desmond to be one.
There are certainly non-elite players that have a super bowl MVP award. Desmond, as much as I love him, was a draft bust. He was a very high draft pick that did not pan out for the team that drafted him. He hung around the league at a position which teams rarely dedicate their best players. Yes, he was a very good return man, and yes, there is value there. But draft busts are measured based on value expected when a team drafts him. Desmond doesn't measure up in that regard.
Legends like Larry Brown and Dexter Jackson
Eli Manning thanks you for considering him the elite of the elite.
yeah, but he won that for one exciting, game-changing kickoff return. He was the 4th overall pick in the draft but never caught more than 40 passes in a single season. Desmond went multiple seasons without ever catching a pass. You could get that level of special teams success with guys like Eddie Drummond, who was an undrafted free agent.
A-Train had a couple of 1000-yard seasons, so I think he's above "bust" level:
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/ThomAn01.htm
Forever a bust in my eyes… He ruined my wedding night with that fumble late against NW!
I am not sure, but I think you may have been doing the whole "Wedding Night" thing wrong.
Yep, always pick a bye week... So young and naive!
NO! You still don't get it.
Pick a bye SEASON. Anniversaries are forever. Or at least for several years, I guess. And those shits always happen on the weekend closest to the date. You shot yourself in the damned foot, sir.
You could make the argument that Desmond didn't live up to the hype for a guy taken 4th overall in the draft, but he still had a 10 year NFL career and was a great special teams player. Having a hard time calling him a bust.
Jamie Morris got drafted in the 4th round and managed to hang in the NFL for 3 seasons, but didn't do much. Expectations were pretty modest for him coming out of college as I recall. Any hype around him seemed centered around speculation as to whether he could equal the performance of his older brother Joe. Again, hard to call him a bust.
Bust status is largely dependent on draft selection. A top 5 draft pick has to be a key player for the team that drafted him to avoid being a bust. A guy towards the end of the first round has to be a reasonably good player. Anyone third round or below can't fairly be labeled a bust.
Desmond did have his own signature shoe with Reebok around the time he signed with Oakland. I can't think of too many players from Michigan that had their own signature shoe. The only ones that come to mind are Webber and Brady. Fab Five doesn't count because they wore Huaraches and Barkleys (all black fab five "colorway").
Sure, shoe deals and whatnot. But name another school with a player that is synonymous with a COMPONENT of a shoe.
