08-17-2017, 04:47 PM
(08-17-2017, 03:02 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: I said they're both busts *as first round picks*.
Nobody uses first round picks to get "solid starters" 5 years later. If Kirkpatrick was a 4th or 5th round pick, he would have been a great pick. He wasn't. He was the 17th overall pick in the draft, and it took him 5 years to become a solid starter. That's a bust. The same way that a guy who is taken in the 7th round and does nothing but be a decent special teamer for 3-4 years before exiting the league is not a bust, because that's a good return on a 7th round pick.
That's not to say Kirkpatrick can't have a good career as a decent starter from now on. It just means when we look back on the draft history, it was a bad decision to use the 17th overall pick on him because 1st round picks need to be stars, not take 5 years to become solid starters.
Granted, Dennard might be a bust regardless of 1st, 2nd, or 3rd round status. He's shown less in his first three years than Kirkpatrick did.
I didnt realize you considered 1st round busts as non pro bowl players. We have a completely different gage of what would label a guy as a bust. Whats your opinion of Zeitler? By your definition of 1st round bust he would fit the bill since he developed into a solid starter and is now the highest paid g in the league. He did get playing time quicker than Kirkpatrick where there was less competition and he was healthier, but he has never made a pro bowl. He is a solid, not elite player. There are only a handful of stars in the 1st round of every draft with the exception of a few great draft classes. Labeling one of the better corners in the league a bust because he was drafted in the 1st round seems a little crazy to me. He didnt become a full time starter until year 4 (number of factors went into that..you can debate that all day but it will never change the fact that once he got his opportunity he has taken advantage and developed into a solid player.) Dennard is now coming into his 4th year. I will wait to pass judgement on him until he sees some more time on the field.
