Recent BUSTS

Don Wassall

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Remember the hype surrounding this guy when he was drafted in 2018? He was supposedly an unprecedented combination of athleticism and running ability, treated as practically a new species. After a good rookie year it's been all downhill since, to the point that he can be had now for practically nothing:

NJ.com's Zack Rosenblatt said the Giants could be open to trading Saquon Barkley for a third or fourth round draft pick.
Rosenblatt said "buzz at the combine was that Barkley could probably net a fourth-round pick in a trade, maybe a conditional pick to bump it up to a third based on playing time or performance-based incentives." New Giants general manager Joe Schoen said two weeks ago that he would be "open to anything" when asked if the team would trade Barkley this offseason. The oft-injured Barkley came back from an ACL tear in 2021 only to suffer a serious ankle injury when accidentally stepping on his teammate's cleat, costing him a month of playing time. Look for the new Giants officials to correct the mistakes of the previous regime and get what they can for Barkley before he becomes a free agent at the end of the 2022 season.
 

Bucky

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Both Cooper and Barkley were Top5 picks and their asking price few years later plummets to 4th/5th rounders! Guess experts are over using the term "generational talent"
 

white lightning

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Don Wassall

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Penny's been a bust, but he also finally got healthy down the stretch last season and was great in four of the last five games of the season:

Week 13: 16 carries for 137 yards, 8.56 average per carry, 2 TDs
Week 14: 11/39, 3.55 apc
Week 15: 17/135, 7.94 apc, 1 TD
Week 16: 25/170, 6.80 apc, 2 TDs
Week 17: 23/190, 8.26 apc, 1 TD

Those are some lofty numbers, especially considering Seattle's crap o-line, enough for the one-year deal he just got, and as of now he's likely in a committee with Chris Carson so he's pretty much on prove-it status for '22. He helped one of my fantasy teams to a title after I picked him up off the waiver wire, so got to give him some props for his strong finish to '21. ;)
 

The Hock

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I remember reading about Saquon Barkley and what a sure thing superstar he was going to be. My question is does a hyped player who operates in good faith and produces when healthy be considered a bust when the injury bug keeps biting him? Is that a true bust? I think of Steve Entmen or Brian Bosworth and others who disappointed mainly because of injuries. Yet they are called busts which I think is an unfair label.

A true bust in my view is a healthy player who gets lots of playing time but just doesn't produce as expected. To me that's a true bust.
 

Don Wassall

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I agree that the highly drafted player who plays and whose performance is well below expectations is the classic example of a bust, but injuries can factor in as well. Rashaad Penny was drafted in the first round in 2018 and it's rare for a running back to be drafted in the first round in recent years, and never started a game until the last six games of 2021, his fourth season. A running back taken in the first round is expected to start immediately. That was mostly because of injuries, but also because he played poorly when he wasn't injured. If a guy isn't available to be counted on, whether because he's often injured or because he isn't very good when he does play, then he can be considered a bust.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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I remember reading about Saquon Barkley and what a sure thing superstar he was going to be. My question is does a hyped player who operates in good faith and produces when healthy be considered a bust when the injury bug keeps biting him? Is that a true bust? I think of Steve Entmen or Brian Bosworth and others who disappointed mainly because of injuries. Yet they are called busts which I think is an unfair label.

A true bust in my view is a healthy player who gets lots of playing time but just doesn't produce as expected. To me that's a true bust.
i’m with you on this, Hock.
 

Extra Point

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To me a bust is someone who produces little to no value, no matter what the reason(s). That would include players whose careers were derailed by injuries. Availability is an important part of a player's value.

Under this definition a player such as Jeff George was not a bust. He actually had a good career, even though he didn't produce the way you might expect a number one pick to produce.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GeorJe00.htm
 
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Don Wassall

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Chuck Noll, the Bill Belichick of his day, once famously said of Steelers who were often seen in the whirlpool instead of out on the field, "You can't make the club in the tub."

Not busts per say because they weren't highly drafted, but there's been a number of White players over the years who've gotten the rare opportunity at one of the verboten positions but couldn't take advantage because they were so injury prone.
 

Don Wassall

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This 2016 first round draft pick has 61 career NFL catches, none since 2018:

Chiefs signed WR Corey Coleman, formerly of the Giants. Once a promising receiver prospect drafted by the Browns in the first round of the 2016 draft, Coleman, 27, hasn't appeared in an NFL game since 2018, serving a suspension in 2021 after tearing his ACL in 2020. He has an outside shot at making Kansas City's roster this summer.
 

Red Raider

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This 2016 first round draft pick has 61 career NFL catches, none since 2018:

Chiefs signed WR Corey Coleman, formerly of the Giants. Once a promising receiver prospect drafted by the Browns in the first round of the 2016 draft, Coleman, 27, hasn't appeared in an NFL game since 2018, serving a suspension in 2021 after tearing his ACL in 2020. He has an outside shot at making Kansas City's roster this summer.
Incredible how this guy still has a job after being an all-time major bust. He has been in the NFL for 6 years and has done nothing at all but they still hold out hope based on his great college seasons from 7-8 years ago?? C’mon man there’s new talent added to the NFL pool every year and they keep going back to bums like this when there are deserving guys without jobs.
 

The Hock

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The Saquon Barkley situation really strikes me because of the article I read on him. It was such over the top slobbering they might as well have taken him straight to Canton to get it over with before he even had one carry. Now he can be had for a 3rd or 4th round pick?

Ha ha the Giants. Couldn't happen to a nicer team.
 

Don Wassall

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It's still too early to write this clown off as a bust, but I predicted that's would he would turn out to be when he was drafted in the first round last year and I'm sticking to it. His rookie season certainly was a bust:

Giants HC Brian Daboll told reporters that Kadarius Toney is not at voluntary minicamp and has not yet received a playbook. Daboll noted that the Giants have not held any virtual sessions, making their voluntary pre-draft minicamp the first opportunity for players to get their hands on the playbook for the new offense. Toney has opted not to attend. Toney also got off to a slow start in his first NFL offseason, after skipping voluntary workouts because he had not yet signed his rookie deal. An electric player when on the field, Toney has a lower floor this season than his talent would suggest.
 

Leonardfan

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It's still too early to write this clown off as a bust, but I predicted that's would he would turn out to be when he was drafted in the first round last year and I'm sticking to it. His rookie season certainly was a bust:

Giants HC Brian Daboll told reporters that Kadarius Toney is not at voluntary minicamp and has not yet received a playbook. Daboll noted that the Giants have not held any virtual sessions, making their voluntary pre-draft minicamp the first opportunity for players to get their hands on the playbook for the new offense. Toney has opted not to attend. Toney also got off to a slow start in his first NFL offseason, after skipping voluntary workouts because he had not yet signed his rookie deal. An electric player when on the field, Toney has a lower floor this season than his talent would suggest.

AJ Brown, Debo Samuel, Kyler Murray, Terry McLaurin all holding out because they want new deals. All of them black. Mayfield replaced by a black primadonna with an inflated ego. The NFL could certainly use a make over.

I do agree with you on Toney. He will bust. Seems like another Antonio Brown - a mental midget.
 

Bucky

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Bust for sure. Zero work ethic and doesn't know playbook.
 

Don Wassall

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Miles Boykin, a 2019 third round pick by the Ravens, was picked up off waivers the other day by the Steelers. Boykin has 33 career receptions in his three NFL seasons.
 

Red Raider

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Miles Boykin, a 2019 third round pick by the Ravens, was picked up off waivers the other day by the Steelers. Boykin has 33 career receptions in his three NFL seasons.
Incredible athlete but hasn’t been able to put it all together for some reason. I’m sure his friendship with Claypool helped him land on the Steelers. This season will probably determine if he is a complete failure or not.

Kadarius Toney cares more about his rap career than his football career. The issue is that his music is terrible and he will throw away his football career on his current path. Skipping voluntary workouts when there’s a new coach/system and you’re a young unproven player is probably the dumbest thing you can do. But Toney is known for being pretty dumb so not surprising.
 

Don Wassall

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Incredible athlete but hasn’t been able to put it all together for some reason. I’m sure his friendship with Claypool helped him land on the Steelers. This season will probably determine if he is a complete failure or not.

Being friends with Claypool isn't likely to help Boykin tap his "limitless upside." Claypool looked like a budding superstar his rookie season in 2020 but took some big steps backwards last year. Turns out he's very immature and selfish so he fit right in with the predominant culture on the Steelers, as personified by Ju Ju Smith-Schuster, who signed with the Chiefs this off-season. Smith-Schuster in turn was tutored by the two grandmasters of selfishness and idiocy, Leveon Bell and Antonio Brown. As a result the Steelers have little leadership and Mike Tomlin either refuses to rein in the antics of the buffoons or he enjoys it as much as they do. Tomlin's defenders point to how he's "never had a losing season" but he's also had six seasons where the team finished either at .500 or 9-7. More importantly they're no longer close to being a serious Super Bowl contender. But Tomlin enjoys something close to guaranteed life tenure thanks to the Steelers never firing their head coach and also being the main promoters of the Rooney Rule.
 

Don Wassall

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His 40 time could be measured by a sun dial, yet the Eagles took him in the second round:

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Eagles WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside is converting to tight end.
Per reporter Jeff McLane, Arcega-Whiteside is "embracing the transition." It is an overdue Hail Mary attempt after the 2019 second-rounder caught just six balls across 24 games the past two seasons. Simply not an NFL-level athlete at the receiver position, it is unlikely but not impossible that JJAW might have some untapped Logan Thomas/Darren Waller-style upside up the seam. Both those tight end converts are much larger at 6-foot-6, with JJAW lacking people-moving size at 6-foot-2. He will have to flash potential as a "move" option in offseason workouts. We are not holding our breath.
 

Red Raider

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Giants now trying to trade Kadarius Toney. Seems to be immature/dumb and doesn’t care about football. I’ve seen his college highlights and he’s electric with the ball in his hands, all that talent will go to waste if he keeps on his current path.
 

Don Wassall

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Giants now trying to trade Kadarius Toney. Seems to be immature/dumb and doesn’t care about football. I’ve seen his college highlights and he’s electric with the ball in his hands, all that talent will go to waste if he keeps on his current path.

The new Giants regime didn't draft Toney and the fact they are already recognizing that the previous regime made a mistake in drafting him shows there's a possibility that Daboll and Schoen aren't the pathetic Caste cuck losers that the other recent ones have been. . .
 

Leonardfan

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The new Giants regime didn't draft Toney and the fact they are already recognizing that the previous regime made a mistake in drafting him shows there's a possibility that Daboll and Schoen aren't the pathetic Caste cuck losers that the other recent ones have been. . .

Agreed. It's a shame that he got snaps ahead of David Sills and Alex Bachman. Gettleman was a disaster as GM of the Giants. Toney never had a 1000 yard season in college. Gettleman also signed John Ross last year who has been an even bigger bust than Toney considering the hype around him after his 40 time.


Would love to see the Giants finally address the O-line, pass rush and get Jones a real TE in the draft.
 
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