NCAAF player you were most surprised was a NFL bust/Most surprised of NFL success?
- Thread starter KingOfBBN
- Start date
Elway did back in the day. I don't remember the teams but he wasn't hoping to sign with the team with number 1 pick which he was suppose to be.
As a lifelong Bengals fan, I have plenty in mind:
Peter Warrick
David Klingler
Akili Smith
I could add several more, but I’d have to look them up. There was a running back from Michigan who blew out his knee in his first NFL game. David Pollack broke his neck in his rookie season. For a long time the Bengals were totally snakebitten with their first round picks. Thank goodness those days are long gone.
Peter Warrick
David Klingler
Akili Smith
I could add several more, but I’d have to look them up. There was a running back from Michigan who blew out his knee in his first NFL game. David Pollack broke his neck in his rookie season. For a long time the Bengals were totally snakebitten with their first round picks. Thank goodness those days are long gone.
Didn’t he refuse to go to Baltimore? Threatened to sign a baseball contract with the Yankees if he wasn’t traded.
All three were busts, but Warrick is the only one that was a surprise bust. Klingler and Smith were about as high risk for busting as draft picks can be, and were idiotic picks. Ki-Jana Carter, like Warrick, was a bust who was realistically a great pick at the time, but his busting was injury related.
I don’t know how I forgot Carter. Who was the running back from Michigan who blew his knee out in the season opener?
Yep, he was actually drafted by Baltimore and refused to sign. Eventually traded for a guard who ended up being a pro bowler I believe.
I'll throw one out there that I haven't seen mentioned, Brian Bosworth. I can close my eyes and still see Bo Jackson basically ending "The Boz" on one play.
Johnny Manziel, wasn't he also drafted in first round by Browns? At least Couch had legit injury reasons for not having a great pro career, but I thought Manziel was nothing more than a great college player whose abilities would not translate at all to the NFL, was right on that one at least.
Yeah, but did anyone think Manziel was going to be an NFL star? He was undersized and went late in the first round so I don't think expectations were that high. He's talented and I think he could've stuck around but he wasn't mature enough.
Well . . . the Browns spent their first round pick on him, so I assume they thought he would be a star.
Going to stick with my Iowa Hawkeyes on both accounts:
Biggest bust: OL Robert Gallery, #2 pick overall by the Raiders.......was a bomb
Greatest surprise: Marshall Yanda, OL with the Ravens.....potential HOF, from small Iowa town, barely recruited, went to a JUCO before transferring to Iowa, and thought his college career was good but not great
Biggest bust: OL Robert Gallery, #2 pick overall by the Raiders.......was a bomb
Greatest surprise: Marshall Yanda, OL with the Ravens.....potential HOF, from small Iowa town, barely recruited, went to a JUCO before transferring to Iowa, and thought his college career was good but not great
Defensive back from GRC HS, Yeremiah Bell. Worked for a couple years after high school, walked on at EKU, had a 10 year NFL career. Not a star but wow
Biggest surprise for consideration: Joe Montana. Was a good QB at ND but was thought to be too small with only an average arm for the NFL. 4 SBs later, he's an all-timer. Also, Jerry Rice came out of nowhere, did not wow at the combine (too slow, supossedly) and he had a pretty good career I'd say.
He was never a superstar but I would have put Alfonso Smith's chances of playing a single down in the NFL at zero and he got 5 seasons in.
I don’t think the OP was asking who are the biggest busts or surprises in NFL history, but who you personally thought was going to be good and wasn’t or thought wasn’t going to be good and was based on their college career. None of you even had Tom Brady on your radar, so it’s a silly answer imo.
Here are mine:
Most surprised was bad - Peter Warwick. I thought he was going to be a stud in the NFL. Played 5 years and then muddled around in other leagues for a few years.
Most surprised was good - Eli Manning. I thought it was a bad pick and trade and didn’t think he’d be that good in the NFL. 4 pro bowls and 2 super bowl MVP’s later, he faired pretty well.
Here are mine:
Most surprised was bad - Peter Warwick. I thought he was going to be a stud in the NFL. Played 5 years and then muddled around in other leagues for a few years.
Most surprised was good - Eli Manning. I thought it was a bad pick and trade and didn’t think he’d be that good in the NFL. 4 pro bowls and 2 super bowl MVP’s later, he faired pretty well.
The year couch was drafted the bengals took qb akili smith, with pick #3, one of the biggest busts ever, along with david klingler, the houston qb they took in ‘92 with the sixth pick, to replace boomer. klingler was fantastic in college but a total failure in the nfl. bengals have had many first round busts.
Vince Young Texas QB thought he would be a NFL STUD. Also the Nebraska RB forgot his name was a huge bust Phillips think that’s his last name. Also the RB from Ohio State Clarrett
Akili Smith is who I first thought of. There were a lot of great players drafted after him and that was the same draft the Saints were giving away everything to get Ricky Williams and the Bengals said no to that too, a disaster of a pick. Ki-Jana Carter was just terrible luck because I think he blew out his knee his first pre-season game and never was the same player.
The saints offered the bengals 9 friggin picks so they could move up in the draft.
Switch the situations and I think it looks very different for Couch. That Browns team was unreal, historically bad. No line, no weapons, etc... Manning wouldn’t have done anything there either imo.
Is clarrett a bust? They never let him in. He challenged and tried to go pro a year early. The league blocked him. After sitting out a year, I don't think he was drafted, may have played cfl or something.
I went back and looked. He was drafted the next year 3rd Rd never played. Adown though before being waived.
Last edited:
Kurt Warner has to be on the surprise list
dude was bagging groceries and drawing food stamps
dude was bagging groceries and drawing food stamps
On the rare occasion he took football halfway serious, he looked pretty decent. Completely imploded
Eric Crouch, QB, Nebraska, aka, NFL Bust.....
Drafted by Saint Louis, 2002, Round 3, Pick 30
Crouch stands as yet another example of exactly how college talent doesn't translate to the pros. After winning the Heisman at Nebraska, Crouch was switched to receiver by the Rams, never played a game, then later had a brief stint in NFL Europe as a safety before making his way to the Canadian Football League. /////
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Most Outstanding emergence ever in the NFL. Chris Mathews, WR, Kentucky.....
GLENDALE, Ariz. — It took one half for Chris Matthews to go from NFL unknown to a name casual football fans know. That is what the Super Bowl stage can do.
The wide receiver caught his first pass of the season in the second quarter of Super Bowl XLIX to jump-start a Seahawks offense that had been stymied. Russell Wilson lobbed a 44-yard pass that Matthews hauled in to set up Marshawn Lynch's 3-yard touchdown run, and then with two seconds remaining in the second quarter, Matthews caught an 11-yard touchdown pass as Patriots fourth cornerback Logan Ryan offered little resistance.
Talk about an emergence for Matthews, who before the Super Bowl was known for recovering the onside kick in the comeback victory over the Packers in the NFC championship game. The Seahawks signed Matthews that February after he spent two seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL.
A former Kentucky player, Matthews joined the Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2011 before going north of the border. He was named the Most Outstanding Rookie in the CFL in 2012 when he made 81 catches for 1,192 yards and seven touchdowns. The 6-foot-5, 218-pound Matthews is a cousin of late NFL Hall of Famer Reggie White.
Drafted by Saint Louis, 2002, Round 3, Pick 30
Crouch stands as yet another example of exactly how college talent doesn't translate to the pros. After winning the Heisman at Nebraska, Crouch was switched to receiver by the Rams, never played a game, then later had a brief stint in NFL Europe as a safety before making his way to the Canadian Football League. /////
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Most Outstanding emergence ever in the NFL. Chris Mathews, WR, Kentucky.....
GLENDALE, Ariz. — It took one half for Chris Matthews to go from NFL unknown to a name casual football fans know. That is what the Super Bowl stage can do.
The wide receiver caught his first pass of the season in the second quarter of Super Bowl XLIX to jump-start a Seahawks offense that had been stymied. Russell Wilson lobbed a 44-yard pass that Matthews hauled in to set up Marshawn Lynch's 3-yard touchdown run, and then with two seconds remaining in the second quarter, Matthews caught an 11-yard touchdown pass as Patriots fourth cornerback Logan Ryan offered little resistance.
Talk about an emergence for Matthews, who before the Super Bowl was known for recovering the onside kick in the comeback victory over the Packers in the NFC championship game. The Seahawks signed Matthews that February after he spent two seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL.
A former Kentucky player, Matthews joined the Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2011 before going north of the border. He was named the Most Outstanding Rookie in the CFL in 2012 when he made 81 catches for 1,192 yards and seven touchdowns. The 6-foot-5, 218-pound Matthews is a cousin of late NFL Hall of Famer Reggie White.
...and had Drew Bledsoe not taken that hit to the chest against the Jets, we likely would have never heard of Tom Brady.
or if he switched with the Vikings Daunte Culpepper?
1) Kurt Warner hands down undrafted bagging groceries to the hall of fame . 2) Tom Brady as 6th round pick to GOAT.
I really thought Andre Woodson would be a good pro. I was pretty young at the time and he obviously dropped in the draft, but during that 2007 season I was convinced he’d be very good in the NFL.
I’m surprised Justin Herbert as been as good as he’s been. I watched a few of his games at Oregon because I wanted to see who the Bengals might get at QB and I thought he looked awful. Maybe it was just those few games he didn’t play well but I did not see this coming from him at all.
I’m surprised Justin Herbert as been as good as he’s been. I watched a few of his games at Oregon because I wanted to see who the Bengals might get at QB and I thought he looked awful. Maybe it was just those few games he didn’t play well but I did not see this coming from him at all.
Cleveland also did nothing to help him. They always went for defense with their early draft picks instead of getting a left tackle to protect their franchise QB. Injuries did him in after that.
34 linebackers were picked in the 2008 draft. Woodyard had a longer NFL career than any of them.
Yes, this was my intent. Others have made it into the biggest busts ever (which we already know the big ones) and it was more about personal predictions.
i.e. In my post, I was wrong on Warrick for being a bust and I was wrong on Matt Ryan being an MVP QB.
As to couch being a bust, his numbers are almost identical to Eli Manning for their respective first4 years in the league.
Except Manning played on a good team and won a super bowl in his 4th year.
Except Manning played on a good team and won a super bowl in his 4th year.
Akili Smith may have been the worst pick in history based on the Saints trade offer which has been discussed in several documentaries. Bengals also picked a second round RB from Auburn who got hurt and never really played. That plus two OL lineman, one who had been injured in the first round who never made it as starters made for a mystifying run if bad picks. The Chase pick last year may be the acorn that Bengals fans have waited on for many years.
It's a real shame we never got see peak Sabonis in the NBA. People forget, if they ever even knew, he's one of the best to ever play the sport. Some argue he was even the best center in the basketball hisotry. Even then, at age 31 and with injuries having ravaged him considerably, he still averaged 15 and 8 on 55% shooting in 24 minutes in his first year in the league in 1995-96.
This was when you still had the following playing during or near their peak: David Robinson, Mutombo, Olajuwon, Ewing, Mourning, Shaq, Rodman, Vlade Divac, Laettner (year before he was an All-Star), Rik Smits, Shawn Bradley, Big Country Bryant Reeves, Rony Seikaly, Kevin Willis, Bison Dele, Olden Polynice (averaged 12 and 9), and Muresan (don't laugh, he averaged 15 and 10 that season and led the league in FG%). Then there were numerous other elite PFs that probably played some center.
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
-
-
-
-
JRob and Butler return to practice- Latest: the nail at the foul line