Call it what you will, the NFL's annual distribution of new player talent is a gamble. If history has shown us anything, it's that there are no sure things when it comes to evaluating and selecting young athletes.
The list of highly hyped players who turned out to be major busts is long indeed. And the reach many club's make in hopes of landing a so-called franchise-type quarterback, is even longer.
Remember Ryan Leaf, Art Schlister, Heath Schuler, Jim Drukenmiller, Andre Ware, David Klinger, Tim Couch, Jack Thompson, Todd Blackledge, Todd Marinovich, Dan McGwire, Kelly Stouffer, Jerry Tagge, Cade McNown, and Akili Smith?
Of course, the quarterbacks that didn't live up to their draft pick are not alone.
Let's not forget Lawrence Phillips, Charles Rogers, Keith McCants, Johnny "Lam" Jones, Bo Matthews, Reggie Rogers, Joe Profit, Peter Warrick, Derek Brown, Curtis Ennis, Steve Niehaus, Blair Thomas, Tony Mandarich and Michael Westbrook.
If your reaction to some of those names is "Who?" that's exactly my point. These were all supposed can't-miss players who did. And by a wide margin. Inevitably, some new names will be added to the list of under-achievers this year.
The irony is that, for the most part, the players seem to carry the stigma of their failure more than to the teams than actually selected them. That's not particularly fair, but no one said life – or the NFL draft – are fair.
________________________________________________________________
Sent via the WebMail system at mail.pacificradiogroup.com
No comments:
Post a Comment