NFL: 2014 NFL Draft Busts and Steals

Every year in the NFL draft, you will find players no one knows about that end up being great players. Without even going through the names like Terrell Davis and Tom Brady, who were both picked after 195 picks in their respective draft, there are numerous other players like Marques Colston, Donald Driver, Richard Dent, Shannon Sharpe, and Dwight Clark who were never thought of to reach the careers they ended up or currently have. On the flip side, there are also those guys that everyone says will be good, and they end up not being able to play themselves out a trash can. With names like Jamarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf, and Todd Marinovich coming to mind, let’s just say everyone isn’t cut out for the NFL.

For 2014, it will be no different. There will be players that come out of nowhere and players that are picked in the top 10 that disappear. So the following are my top 5 potential busts and steals for the 2014 NFL draft.

Steals:

1. Justin Gilbert – Now most people won’t call him a steal because he’ll probably be taken in the top 15. However, most lockdown cornerbacks go in the top 5 in today’s heavy passing league. I feel he is the only CB that has “lockdown” potential. Teams will be upset they passed him over.
2. Louis Nix III – In my opinion, he is the best NT is the draft and with 3/4ths of the league running a 3-4, he should be a top 10, if not a top 5 picks, but most mocks have him in 20s range of round 1. He will be a game changer. He can be injury-proned, but he’s a monster run stuffer.
3. Odell Beckham Jr. – He has the 2^nd best playmaking ability at WR behind Sammie Watkins, but he may be a better overall WR. I know people LOVE Watkins, but this guy’s also fast and runs better routes. He also was in a pro-style offense unlike Watkins, who caught a LOT of screens.
4. Jace Amaro – Everyone LOVES Eric Ebron, and it’s understandable because of his physical gifts, but Amaro is no slouch. He fits the mold of a Jason Witten, not super-fast, but has good hands, ran WR routes in college, and is 20 lbs heavier than Ebron, which should help with blocking.
5. Bishop Sankey – Most people have Carlos Hyde or Tre Mason as their #1 RB, Sankey is my #1 back. He has all the tools to be a top tier type back. He has good speed, vision, pass catching ability, and most importantly nowadays, he can pass block. He’ll go off the board mid round 2.

Busts:

1. Jake Matthews – A lot of scouts call him the safest pick in the draft. If you go back to March 2004, they said the same thing about Robert Gallery. I don’t think Matthews is a true stud LT and his best position may end up being guard or center, a position that DOESN’T go top 5.
2. Aaron Donald – He’s been a fast riser as of late, but him going within the top 12, if not top 10. I think he must fit in the right system to be effective because of his size. He’s only 6’2 284 lbs. That’s very small for an every down DT. He may be best fitted at a 3-4 DE or a pass rushing DT.
3. Kelvin Benjamin – He has perfect size for a red zone target at 6’5 240 lbs, but because of that same size, he has problems creating separation and doesn’t cut well out of breaks in his routes. He’s not fast enough to be a slot, very limited despite having good hands.
4. Andre Williams – He has a great year last year, but he had GREAT blocking to the point where a lot of his 20+ yard runs, he went untouched. He hasn’t shown pass catching ability as of yet with only 1 catches in his college career. I think there will be better backs to take after round 4.
5. Logan Thomas – I’m begging you, PLEASE don’t be fooled by how good this guy can look at times. He is a physical specimen that has a rocket arm. However, he doesn’t have good footwork, which leads to some really inaccurate throws and he make too many mental mistakes.

All in all, the 2014 NFL draft will be the usual. A day where fans get to see who they will be rooting for the next 4 years and who they can look to as the future of their franchise. Fortunately for a few teams, they’ll get a Russell Wilson without even knowing it, more unfortunately for some teams, they’ll take a Vince Young and know about it for the next 10, but hey, that the NFL draft, if it was an exact science, everyone would be good.