What Makes a Bust?
When talking about the NFL draft, fans tend to lean towards the positives. Listening to every expert's opinion on who the top players in each year's draft are and hoping to have one fall to their team or the excitement when they trade up to get a "stud." The draft, much like the coach/GM hiring process, is a lot of hearsay. Every "expert" has all the background information on each one of them. Player XYZ has so much experience, has these stats, makes fast kids look not fast, but in the first-grade spelling bee he spelled rock: R-O-K. These are some of the same things scouts are looking into, but we will never know their true potential until they have a chance to actually perform.
We are all hopeful that Poles and Eberflus can lead the Bears to a winning season, but we won't know until the season starts. They can say and promise things in interviews. But we won't know until they show us. We hope that the picks we make this year turn into draft "steals" that lead us to a bright future. And Ditka helps us if we pick up another bust. But that begs the question, how can you determine when a draft pick is truly a "bust?" Everyone has that player that immediately comes to mind that they deem a BUST! (The Boz, Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell) How do we calculate a bust? Do we look at stats, what round they were drafted in, or how long they stay in the league? What about injuries and trades?
Would you call Cedric Benson (May he rest in peace) and Johnny Knox busts? Benson was a fourth overall pick in 2005, he played three years for the Bears, never playing a full season and the most he gained in a single season in a Bears' jersey was 674 yards on 196 carries. But in four years with the Bengals, he had three 1000+ yard seasons. Is that a bust or just bad management? Johnny Knox was an extremely talented and promising receiver the Bears took in the fifth round in 2009. He was only able to play three years before his career was cut short by a spinal injury. Then there's Kevin White. The bears took him with the #7 pick in 2015, he's been dealing with nagging injuries everywhere he goes. He IS still in the league, on the Saints' roster. The most games he has played in one season so far is nine. Do we chalk it up to a "what if" player, is he a bust, or is there still time for him since he is still playing?
Whether the player is a first-round pick or a Mr. Irrelevant, a has-been or a never was, all we can do is coach from our armchairs, hope for the best, and Bear Down!
