Without further ado, the thrilling and hair raising ending to the "Draftadamus" 2012 NFL Draft "All Bust" List (Get it? Draftadamus is similar to Nostradamus, the 16th century predictor of the future, in other words I am claiming that I can predict the future of draft picks....still no, nothing? Nevermind, I'll come up with something better next year....)
Before you read this make sure you check out the 2011 "All Bust" List first and then check out the 2012 part 1, part 2, part 3, and running back parts.
Before you read this make sure you check out the 2011 "All Bust" List first and then check out the 2012 part 1, part 2, part 3, and running back parts.
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| What a surprise-can't shed a block |
-6'4" 346lbs.
-4.90 40-yd dash
-44 reps of 225lbs on the bench
-29.5" vertical jump
-105" broad jump
What do all these amazing numbers really mean? Not much, cause when do you run 40 yards in a straight line from a sprinters stance during a football game, when do you do the bench press motion (as a D-lineman you shouldn't have let the offensive player get that close to you), or when do you jump straight up or straight out? Combine numbers should just be a way to confirm what you have seen on film, particularly how would a player from a smaller-less athletic-conference stand up against the larger ones.
You would think, logically, a guy so physically superior to all other combine participants would have dominated his college conference, especially if it was a 3rd tier conference, right? Well Poe was only 2nd Team All-Conference in 2011, an honorable mention in 2010....in Conference-USA (don't feel bad if you have never heard of C-USA, most haven't) and registered a whopping 1 sack his final year of college ball. He also takes too many plays off (all 300+ lb d-linemen take plays off occasionally) and was rarely double or triple teamed by opposing teams like most people of his physical talents should dictate....
I know you are thinking that he was the only decent player on that defense. Well that ranked 117th (out of 120, you don't need to be Stephen Hawking to realize that sucks...BAD) so the other teams just game planned to stop him. If his opposing coaches had that much respect for him then they would have given him better post-season honors, and his own coach would have moved him around and kept him in position to make plays, and I mean more plays than the one mentioned above.
With the physical skills that Poe possesses he could be a great player, unfortunately to reach his potential he has to change his lazy ways and Apparently the Chiefs feel like they haven't whiffed on enough defensive linemen picked high in the draft in recent years and decided to continue the trend (Tyson Jackson, Glenn Dorsey, Allen Bailey, Turk McBride, the list goes on).
Mark Barron-S-Buccaneers - As a Cowboys fan, nothing scared me more when they traded up to #6 in the draft and Barron was still on the board, and after a week of "Cowboys will do anything to get Barron" rumors, I almost cried. Luckily they passed on him (maybe not so lucky if Janoris Jenkins ends up being much better than the 'Boys pick of Morris Claiborne) and let Tampa Bay snag him. Including Barron on this list is totally dependent on where the Bucs play him, if they play him as a strong safety that plays in the box, then I think he will be an above average player, if they play him as a ball hawking centerfield free safety, then we will see the back of his jersey quite often in the years to come. In reality I think that he fits best as the aforementioned "box strong safety" or as a 4-3 LB, and due to his size (6'1 213lb at the Combine) he is probably best suited to be a WLB (although I am not a fan of using a 1st round pick to COMPLETELY change a player's position). Let's be honest, he is a HUGE liability in pass coverage, much like a large number of current NFL safety's. So if I believe that he will be an above average strong safety why am I including him on this list of "Bust's", you may be asking yourself? Well, with the emergence of the passing game, a run stopping safety has been devalued even worse than veteran running backs... So he will never have the type of impact that you expect out of the #7 overall pick, especially if it is a safety, and you can double that when the player is a STRONG safety that was already a liability in pass coverage while in college...
Justin Blackmon-WR-Jaguars - Look, I think Blackmon is a "good" wide receiver, and that's part of the problem, he is "good" and not "great". A bigger part of the problem is his current quarterback, Blaine Gabbert, one of the stars of last years "All Bust" list.
If Blackmon was in last years draft, he probably wouldn't have even been taken in the first round. There is no doubt that he would have been drafted after A.J. Green and Julio Jones with his fall potentially going even past Jonathan Baldwin; in reality he very likely could have slipped into the 2nd round, and in my opinion he was inferior to the 2nd receiver taken in this year's draft Michael Floyd.
I think that Blackmon could be an above average wide receiver in the right system with the right quarterback and surrounding cast, but in Jacksonville opposing teams will stack the box to stop Maurice Jones-Drew and trust that Gabbert will check down to a running back or tight end (like he usually does hints the 5.36 YPA), and if he does actually try a down field pass to either him or Laurent Robinson he will probably miss (like he usually does hints the 50% completion rate and most of those completions are dinks and dunks). His only chance is if the Jags do the right thing and give up on Gabbert early in the season and let backup Chad Henne take the reins.
Hey, I am not completely down on Blackmon, I think he has great hands and is not afraid to be physical and go up and get the ball (or get behind the wheel after 25 to many drinks....), but there is nothing about him that jumps out at me and tells me that he will be "elite". In fact I think he compares favorably to Michael Crabtree, who has had some success when healthy, has not even come close to his draft status as a top 10 pick and his holdout claiming he was worth a top 5 pick. Both receivers have good hands and catch a lot of balls but neither player is tall (even though Blackmon plays much taller than his 6'0+ height implies), or has blazing speed, and Blackmon seems to lose concentration from time to time and that was when he was getting 10+ balls thrown to him a game.
The last major concern I have about Blackmon is the competition he went up against. Let's be honest for a minute, Blackmon never even faced a good (By good I mean he didn't face elite, great, real good, amazing D's) defense in the Big 12 and he never even took on an SEC defense during his college career, so how good will he be against NFL defensive backs? Between playing for the Jaguars, his college competition, and lacking truly elite physical skills (besides the ability to drink an excessive amount of alcohol and drive without killing somebody), Blackmon will not live up to the expectations of being the #7 overall pick (unless he ends up playing on the prison team if he doesn't grow up after being arrested 2x for DUI).
Speaking of his DUI's, either Blackmon is extremely immature, has a drinking problem, or he likes Oklahoma State Cowboy color so much that he wants to wear it permanently, in prison.
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I know you are thinking that he was the only decent player on that defense. Well that ranked 117th (out of 120, you don't need to be Stephen Hawking to realize that sucks...BAD) so the other teams just game planned to stop him. If his opposing coaches had that much respect for him then they would have given him better post-season honors, and his own coach would have moved him around and kept him in position to make plays, and I mean more plays than the one mentioned above.
With the physical skills that Poe possesses he could be a great player, unfortunately to reach his potential he has to change his lazy ways and Apparently the Chiefs feel like they haven't whiffed on enough defensive linemen picked high in the draft in recent years and decided to continue the trend (Tyson Jackson, Glenn Dorsey, Allen Bailey, Turk McBride, the list goes on).
Mark Barron-S-Buccaneers - As a Cowboys fan, nothing scared me more when they traded up to #6 in the draft and Barron was still on the board, and after a week of "Cowboys will do anything to get Barron" rumors, I almost cried. Luckily they passed on him (maybe not so lucky if Janoris Jenkins ends up being much better than the 'Boys pick of Morris Claiborne) and let Tampa Bay snag him. Including Barron on this list is totally dependent on where the Bucs play him, if they play him as a strong safety that plays in the box, then I think he will be an above average player, if they play him as a ball hawking centerfield free safety, then we will see the back of his jersey quite often in the years to come. In reality I think that he fits best as the aforementioned "box strong safety" or as a 4-3 LB, and due to his size (6'1 213lb at the Combine) he is probably best suited to be a WLB (although I am not a fan of using a 1st round pick to COMPLETELY change a player's position). Let's be honest, he is a HUGE liability in pass coverage, much like a large number of current NFL safety's. So if I believe that he will be an above average strong safety why am I including him on this list of "Bust's", you may be asking yourself? Well, with the emergence of the passing game, a run stopping safety has been devalued even worse than veteran running backs... So he will never have the type of impact that you expect out of the #7 overall pick, especially if it is a safety, and you can double that when the player is a STRONG safety that was already a liability in pass coverage while in college...
Justin Blackmon-WR-Jaguars - Look, I think Blackmon is a "good" wide receiver, and that's part of the problem, he is "good" and not "great". A bigger part of the problem is his current quarterback, Blaine Gabbert, one of the stars of last years "All Bust" list.
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| Maybe he just really loves OK State Colors |
I think that Blackmon could be an above average wide receiver in the right system with the right quarterback and surrounding cast, but in Jacksonville opposing teams will stack the box to stop Maurice Jones-Drew and trust that Gabbert will check down to a running back or tight end (like he usually does hints the 5.36 YPA), and if he does actually try a down field pass to either him or Laurent Robinson he will probably miss (like he usually does hints the 50% completion rate and most of those completions are dinks and dunks). His only chance is if the Jags do the right thing and give up on Gabbert early in the season and let backup Chad Henne take the reins.
Hey, I am not completely down on Blackmon, I think he has great hands and is not afraid to be physical and go up and get the ball (or get behind the wheel after 25 to many drinks....), but there is nothing about him that jumps out at me and tells me that he will be "elite". In fact I think he compares favorably to Michael Crabtree, who has had some success when healthy, has not even come close to his draft status as a top 10 pick and his holdout claiming he was worth a top 5 pick. Both receivers have good hands and catch a lot of balls but neither player is tall (even though Blackmon plays much taller than his 6'0+ height implies), or has blazing speed, and Blackmon seems to lose concentration from time to time and that was when he was getting 10+ balls thrown to him a game.
The last major concern I have about Blackmon is the competition he went up against. Let's be honest for a minute, Blackmon never even faced a good (By good I mean he didn't face elite, great, real good, amazing D's) defense in the Big 12 and he never even took on an SEC defense during his college career, so how good will he be against NFL defensive backs? Between playing for the Jaguars, his college competition, and lacking truly elite physical skills (besides the ability to drink an excessive amount of alcohol and drive without killing somebody), Blackmon will not live up to the expectations of being the #7 overall pick (unless he ends up playing on the prison team if he doesn't grow up after being arrested 2x for DUI).
Speaking of his DUI's, either Blackmon is extremely immature, has a drinking problem, or he likes Oklahoma State Cowboy color so much that he wants to wear it permanently, in prison.
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