2014 NFL Draft Potential Busts: Offense
2014 NFL Draft Day 2 Values: Offense | 2014 NFL Draft Day 2 Values: Defense
2014 NFL Draft Potential Busts: Offense | 2014 NFL Draft Potential Busts: Defense
2014 NFL Draft Sleepers
Published May 2, 2014
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell
In the recent weeks, there have been a lot of questions about which players to avoid in the 2014 NFL Draft class. Every draft has some players who are selected early only to becoming massive disappointments in the NFL. Here, we break down some potential busts in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M
Manziel has a number of flaws that could end up leading him to being a bust. He is undersized (5-11, 207) and needs to develop his field vision. Manziel also has to change his game to run less because he probably will get injured if he doesn’t. Manziel needs a lot of other work in reading defenses and becoming a pocket passer. Sources have said that whichever team drafts him will have to change its offense to being mostly shotgun. Limitations never help to score points against NFL defenses.
Off the field, sources have said that the Texas A&M staff have questioned Manziel’s maturity in conversations with NFL teams and they don’t know how well he is going to handle the money and celebrity life style. Even with Manziel’s claims of being focused during interviews, they feel he could get distracted or possibly get into trouble.
There are a variety of ways that could lead to Manziel going bust. That being said, he also could be a boom pick. Manziel is a special play-maker who has tremendous instincts. Manziel is a boom-or-bust prospect for the ages, and there may not be much middle ground.
Lache Seastrunk, Baylor
Seastrunk was a feast-or-famine back for Baylor, and that doesn’t exactly bode well for his NFL career. Add in that he has little experience in the passing game and he has some serious bust potential. Seastrunk also got nicked up during his final season, which could mean durability is an issue. He has a lot of talent, but his flaws could lead to him not panning out as pro.
Kelvin Benjamin, Florida State
There is a lot to like about Benjamin with his combination of size and speed, but he needs refinement. There have been many talented first-round athletes who didn’t pan out because they didn’t work hard enough to refine their skills. That would be the trap for Benjamin. He needs to improve his route-running and hands in particular. Benjamin drops too many balls and his routes aren’t crisp enough. Some feel that the 6-foot-5, 240-pounder could gain too much weight and become too heavy for receiver, similar to former Lions bust Mike Williams. Benjamin is too reliant on being bigger and faster than everybody else. He’ll still be bigger at the next level, but he won’t be faster. Benjamin also has off-the-field maturity concerns that could submarine his NFL career as well.
Jace Amaro, Texas Tech
WalterFootball.com knows some teams that aren’t high on Amaro. They feel he doesn’t have enough speed to separate in the NFL and needs work as a blocker. I like Amaro, but those issues are concerning. If his receiving doesn’t translate as well to the pro gram, he doesn’t have anything else to fall back on; Amaro isn’t a blocking, short-yardage player. He should still be selected in the first two rounds, but among the top-four tight ends, he has the most boom-or-bust potential.
Cyrus Kouandjio, Alabama
Kouandjio could be a first-round pick, which seems risky to me. There is no doubt that he is a strong run-blocker, but he gave up too many sacks during the 2013 season. His pass blocking improved over the past two years, but it is still a weakness as evidenced by Oklahoma’s Eric Striker in the most recent Sugar Bowl. Kouandjio is too much of a potential projection. If he can’t develop into a good pass-blocker, he’ll be a bust unless he successfully transitions to another position on the line.
2014 NFL Draft Day 2 Values: Offense | 2014 NFL Draft Day 2 Values: Defense
2014 NFL Draft Potential Busts: Offense | 2014 NFL Draft Potential Busts: Defense
2014 NFL Draft Sleepers
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