NFL Combine Stars Who Were NFL Busts
The NFL scouting combine is where you bring most of college football’s top players all together at one time in one place to put on a show for NFL scouts. These players are the cream of the crop, hoping to boost their draft stock. At the combine, these players run, jump, lift, and go through some general positional drills. From all this, we learn one thing for sure: these NFL hopefuls know how to run, jump, lift, and run some drills. What we still don’t know is whether or not they can play football in the NFL. That doesn’t stop teams from overreacting to a great workout, and throwing out an entire college career of tape to draft a player too high because he can run, jump, and lift better than the rest. In honor of the scouting combine this weekend, let’s take a look at some of the biggest busts who were drafted too high because of a phenomenal combine:
1) Vernon Gholston: Remember him? Probably not, because he played 3 seasons, and posted a total of 16 tackles and 0 sacks before he was out of the league. Not exactly the return the Jets were hoping for after making the defensive end the 6th overall pick in 2008. But hey, he’s a physical specimen who ran a 4.67 second 40 yard dash, posted a vertical jump of 35.5 inches, and put up 37 reps on the bench at 6’4 and 258 lbs.
2) Troy Williamson: What were the Vikings thinking making Williamson the 7th overall pick in 2007? He was a wide receiver that never caught more than 43 passes in a season in college, with a total of 13 touchdowns in his college career. But he ran a 4.32 second 40 yard dash at 6’1 and 203 lbs. After a total of 87 catches and 4 touchdowns in 5 seasons, Williamson was out of the league.
3) Matt Jones: A college quarterback, Jones was drafted as a wide receiver with the 21st overall pick by the Jaguars in 2005. Why would you draft someone who never played the position 21st overall? Because he’s 6’6 and 242 lbs and runs a 4.37 second 40 yard dash. Jones was out of the league in 4 years.
4) Darrius Heyward-Bey: The Raiders have a weakness for guys who run fast, and that’s why they made the wide receiver the 7th overall pick in 2009 after posting a 4.30 second 40 yard dash. He’s still in the NFL, but through 8 seasons he has posted a total of 199 catches and 16 touchdowns. Not exactly the production you are looking for from a top 10 pick.
5) JaMarcus Russell: The #1 overall pick in 2007 is arguably the biggest bust in NFL history. He was a solid player in college, but after posting arguably the best combine and pro day ever at the quarterback position, he was taken with the top pick by the Raiders. After 4,000 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions over 3 years, Russell was out of the league.
These guys are just five examples of terrible decisions made by teams after seeing a good workout. The point is, don’t make too much of the combine if the guy was an unspectacular college player to begin with. The problem is, teams never learn. Undoubtedly, there will be teams that reach for guys in this upcoming draft because of a big time combine performance. Who are some of our top candidates?
1) John Ross: Ross is a wide receiver out of Washington who made solid contributions in college. Had a very good year in 2016 with over 80 catches and 17 touchdowns, but should have likely been a day 2 pick. Then Ross ran a 4.22 second 40 yard dash, a new combine record, and reportedly blew teams away in interviews. Now he’s reportedly a top half of the first round pick. Buyer beware
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2) Hassan Reddick: Reddick was a nice player in college for Temple, but was likely a day 3 pick the day the season ended. After a great senior bowl and a great combine, Reddick is now a virtual lock for the first round. With the ability to rush off the edge or drop into coverage, a team will undoubtedly draft the linebacker too high after being wowed by workouts.
3) Solomon Thomas: The defensive end from Stanford came into the combine as a top prospect, but after a great workout is now thought of as maybe the #2 overall pick. While he was already thought of as a lock for the first round, you better be sure about a guy if you’re going to draft him #2 overall and ahead of guys like Johnathan Allen, or a potential QB of the future in Watson or Trubisky. If he does not turn into a perennial pro bowl candidate, you are not getting the expected return on this pick.
What do you think? Who will be some of the guys overdrafted this year? Why don't teams ever learn? Comment and let us know! Stay tuned for more current sports stories. Don't forget to follow us on social media. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram @beyondthemetrics, and Twitter @byondthemetrics
