Texas busts taken in the top ten...

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by milkman

None of that matters.

A #2 overall pick at LT who has to move to guard because he sucks ass playing LT is a bust, regardless of his success at guard.

That is a ridiculous argument. A bust is a player who provides no more than minimal value to a team. A disappointment? Yes. A bust? No.

Calling him a bust as a pro is like calling Kerry Meier a bust as a college player. Maybe he didn't reach his full potential as a QB, but he has certainly provided a lot of value even if it is at a lesser position.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

That is a ridiculous argument. A bust is a player who provides no more than minimal value to a team. A disappointment? Yes. A bust? No.

Calling him a bust as a pro is like calling Kerry Meier a bust as a college player. Maybe he didn't reach his full potential as a QB, but he has certainly provided a lot of value even if it is at a lesser position.

A player who fails to produce at the position he was drafted to play is a bust. End of story.

And expectations are even higher for top picks. They're expected not just to succeed, but play at a high level for years

If you draft a guy to play left tackle at 2 and he plays there for 10 years with a few pro bowls, you've gotten your money's worth. If the guy doesn't play at that level, but he's been your starter for a few years (think John Tait, but drafted #2 instead of 14), he's a disappointment, but he's at least produced at the position. If the guy you spent the number 2 pick on ends up at guard, he's a bust. Period.

Robert Gallery is not what you're looking for in the top 5.

[Messier]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

A player who fails to produce at the position he was drafted to play is a bust. End of story.

And expectations are even higher for top picks. They're expected not just to succeed, but play at a high level for years

If you draft a guy to play left tackle at 2 and he plays there for 10 years with a few pro bowls, you've gotten your money's worth. If the guy doesn't play at that level, but he's been your starter for a few years (think John Tait, but drafted #2 instead of 14), he's a disappointment, but he's at least produced at the position. If the guy you spent the number 2 pick on ends up at guard, he's a bust. Period.

Robert Gallery is not what you're looking for in the top 5.

Yes, I would call a player a disappointment that succeeds in a lesser position than for what he was drafted. But a bust to me is a player that isn't starting or is staring but clinging to his spot out of the league in a few years.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by Messier

Yes, I would call a player a disappointment that succeeds in a lesser position than for what he was drafted. But a bust to me is a player that isn't starting or is staring but clinging to his spot out of the league in a few years.

A top 5 pick failing as a OT and then playing guard makes him a bum.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Messier

Yes, I would call a player a disappointment that succeeds in a lesser position than for what he was drafted. But a bust to me is a player that isn't starting or is staring but clinging to his spot out of the league in a few years.

That might be true for a player drafted in the middle or late rounds. We're not only talking first round picks, we're talking high first round picks. They're expected to produce at a high level.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

A player who fails to produce at the position he was drafted to play is a bust. End of story.

And expectations are even higher for top picks. They're expected not just to succeed, but play at a high level for years

If you draft a guy to play left tackle at 2 and he plays there for 10 years with a few pro bowls, you've gotten your money's worth. If the guy doesn't play at that level, but he's been your starter for a few years (think John Tait, but drafted #2 instead of 14), he's a disappointment, but he's at least produced at the position. If the guy you spent the number 2 pick on ends up at guard, he's a bust. Period.

Robert Gallery is not what you're looking for in the top 5.

Clearly you don't understand the difference between a bust and a disappointment.

If you go out with a girl you've heard is slutty and only get a handjob afterwords, that's a disappointment. If she orders the most expensive thing on the menu and then leaves with Tony Gonzalez, that's a bust.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Clearly you don't understand the difference between a bust and a disappointment.

Left tackle is one of the most important (and expensive) positions on the roster. Teams do not spend premium draft picks and high-dollar rookie contracts on players thinking "gee, it'll be okay if he fails at LT, we can just plug him in at guard". Guard is a position filled by mid- to low-round players and journeyman free agents, the highest-paid of whom don't make as much as Jake Long did last year in his rookie contract. A player drafted to play left tackle who ends up at right tackle is a disappointment. A player drafted to play left tackle who ends up at guard or anywhere else is a bust.

I'm not going to waste any more of my time arguing with someone who can't grasp that simple truth.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Left tackle is one of the most important (and expensive) positions on the roster. Teams do not spend premium draft picks and high-dollar rookie contracts on players thinking "gee, it'll be okay if he fails at LT, we can just plug him in at guard". Guard is a position filled by mid- to low-round players and journeyman free agents, the highest-paid of whom don't make as much as Jake Long did last year in his rookie contract. A player drafted to play left tackle who ends up at right tackle is a disappointment. A player drafted to play left tackle who ends up at guard or anywhere else is a bust.

I'm not going to waste any more of my time arguing with someone who can't grasp that simple truth.

You are a flipping idiot. Jake Long is one of the highest paid players at any position in the NFL. Does that then mean that anyone who makes less than him is a bust if they were taken in the top 5 of the draft?

A Guard is nowhere near as important as a Left Tackle, but it's a clearly HOF worthy position. It's not a Long Snapper or a Holder or a Kicker or a Punter. Hell, I'd draft Will Shields over Tony Gonzalez right now if you gave me the chance.

If I drafted a player number 3 to be Willie Roaf and he turned out to be Will Shields, I'm laughing at the guy who drafted a player at number four to be Peyton Manning and got Ryan Leaf.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

You are a flipping idiot.

If you can't participate in the discussion like somebody over the age of 5, than I've got not use for you. Welcome to ignore.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

You are a flipping idiot. Jake Long is one of the highest paid players at any position in the NFL. Does that then mean that anyone who makes less than him is a bust if they were taken in the top 5 of the draft?

A Guard is nowhere near as important as a Left Tackle, but it's a clearly HOF worthy position. It's not a Long Snapper or a Holder or a Kicker or a Punter. Hell, I'd draft Will Shields over Tony Gonzalez right now if you gave me the chance.

If I drafted a player number 3 to be Willie Roaf and he turned out to be Will Shields, I'm laughing at the guy who drafted a player at number four to be Peyton Manning and got Ryan Leaf.

I'm sure Green Bay shares your sentiment, given that they could have gotten Derrick Thomas, Barry Sanders, or Deion, and went the safe route and selected Mandarich.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Cyrus

What about if you take OT Andre Smith this year in the top 10 and move him to LG as a rookie? And he plays like Larry Allen for the next 12 years. Would you consider him a bust then?

I'd call that a waste of a draft pick, since we drafted a left tackle in the middle of the first round last year. And he played at a high level.

A guard is not a position you spend a top-5 pick on, as I mentioned in the post you quoted.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by Cyrus

What about if you take OT Andre Smith this year in the top 10 and move him to LG as a rookie? And he plays like Larry Allen for the next 12 years. Would you consider him a bust then?

I would, I could get a productive guard that makes a fraction of what Smith makes rounds later while also getting another player in the top 5.