I was rooting for him since I kind of like West Virigina, but I thought Steve Slaton would be nothing more than a scat back. But he looked like a Pro Bowler this year.
Same here, I thought Palmer was so overhyped because he had one good year. I figured that was just a product of Norm Chow being there for that year, but he's surprised me by becoming a relatively good QB.
In terms of people that would be a bust that became great, Philip Rivers comes to mind. Although I still think I'm correct because I said he was the third best QB of that class and there's no doubt Big Ben and Eli are better. I thought Leftwich would be better then Palmer so I was wrong there although I still don't think he's gotten his fair shot. Del Rio's a dick and that Atlanta team was awful.
I thought Philip Rivers would bust. I thought the way he shot up draft boards in the month or two before the draft was completely unwarranted. I thought Brick would totally suck but he turned out to be serviceable and is now good and getting better.
I know I am now really supposed to include rookies, but I think it is safe to say that Matt Ryan is not a bust..and I thought he would definitely be a bust.
Also, I didn't think Jay Cutler was going to be so good. I once made a list of guys I thought would end up as busts about two or three drafts back... Wish I could find it.
I always thought that Mario Williams would bust... who would have thought the Texans made the right move? Certainly not me.... Another guy I thought was going to be a huge bust was Heath Miller. While he hasn't exactly been a world beater he has been pretty good. I was so against drafting this guy it wasn't funny but he turned out to be allright. I'd put AJ Hawk in the guy I thought would be a bust too
Mario Williams - I hate workout warriors and thats what really improved his stock because he was ok to good in college, running from hot to cold alot, and never played up to competition. And then for him to be a number one overall pick, i wasnt buying Pacman Jones - Another guy i wasnt sold on(at least talent wise) and i thought the Titans were dumb for choosing him over Antrell Rolle. Eli Manning - Im a Giants fan also and i didnt want this pick. He never impressed me, yeah hes talented but hes not what Peyton was and thats what people thought they were getting. Little would i know that he would shut me up for eternity with that playoff run and superbowl performence last year. Im still not thrilled with him at QB, hes a glorified pro bowl game managing qb, but as long as i get 1 superbowl every decade, im happy as a fan
Wait a second "ok to good"? Did you watch Mario Williams while he was at NC State? He wasn't a work out warrior - he was top three pick all the way. Casserly and the Texans made the right choice, the best choice by taking him over Reggie Bush. He started all three seasons he was there and dominated. As a junior, 24 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks. He is one of the most physically gifted defensive ends to ever enter the draft. Williams never played up to competition? He was All-ACC and All-American. I honestly don't know who the hell you're talking about with this post...
Blah blah blah. Yeah, I hated him. With a blinding and undying passion. He turned out to be kinda servicable... But I don't know if I ever told you guys, he and his agent actually sued the site I was writing for back in '05 because of some comments I made about his poor play in the Senior Bowl. Ironically, I didn't even find out about it until months later, pretty much cementing a career-long dislike for him. But another guy is Steven Jackson, I was convinced that Kevin Jones was destined for stardom, not SJ. Throw John Abraham on that pile too, man did I want Bubba Franks (U).
I thought Matt Ryan might have been a bust if he went to a cold weather team like Chicago or the Jets. I didn't think he had the arm strength to power the ball through cold, windy games. But going to a domed stadium like Atlanta was perfect for him. And after watching him play a few games in the NFL, I'd say his arm is more lively than I initially gave him credit.
Eli's the first one that comes to mind. I always thought he was riding on his brother's success, but he turned into a solid (if unspectacular) NFL starter and now has a ring to boot. I'll put Antonio Cromartie temporarily on this list because of his 2007 season, although his 2008 was awful so I really don't know what to think of him. I also thought Marshawn Lynch was going to bust eaither on or off the football field. So far, he's been solid for Buffalo and he'd be even better with a decent OL. Oh, and I know it's only been one year, but I thought that Chris Johnson's jump from the 2nd or 3rd to the first was a huge mistake and the Titans were making a terrible decision based on a fast 40 time. Definitely proven wrong there so far. Honestly, there's definitely more going the other way, ones who I thought would be great and busted miserably.
While they both had a ton of talent, I also thought Marshawn Lynch or Chris Johnson would be distracted / suspended by off-the-field incidents. Both come from pretty rough backgrounds. Lynch came close when he hit a woman with his car (and was likely DUI). But he got off and his season in 2008 wasn't adversly affected by it. So (for now) these two are still very productive NFL starters.
I wasn't a big Eli believer either. Then again, he's not played up to his #1 pick value despite the SB, so I wasn't entirely wrong. I thought Ben was the best QB in that draft. I was wrong. It's Rivers. I didn't know what to make of him. I loved him as a spunky 2nd rounder, but top 5 seemed way too high
I liked him alot and have a much different opinion. He was the best corner on the team by the end of the year and was the only one in single coverage most of the game. If he was on the Jets now be would be our 2nd best corner. He made 3 really nice plays in the SB, mostly manhandled Desean Jackson in the Eagles game and did a phenomenal job on Steve Smith. I liked the corner the Bills took better(and thought we should have drafted either over Vernon) but as a rookie CB he graded out high. Its probably the hardest position, after QB to play as a rookie.
Here's one for me, Donovan McNabb. I never thought he would have an accurate enough arm to be a passer. He got much better as his career wore on. Played like shit in the Cardinal game though.
I've never seen anything stupider than to say DRC is a bust. We would be thanking god right now had we picked him instead of Ghoulston. So DRC is a gambler, relies too much on speed, etc. He is a rookie and downright impressive one at that. If I was the Cards defensive coordinator I would've isolated the coverage problem on Santonio Holmes because he was playing off the line of scrimmage and getting taken. Who else would've stopped Holmes that night? He was dynamic. I am still laughing at the thought of Joe Flacco being a bust, too! As far as misreading "great" players I'd say I really thought Philip Rivers was going to be a bust. I just remember scouts being concerned about his throwing mechanics. Plus, he was stuck behind Brees(they both ended up being great).
