NFL Draft: Seven Biggest Draft Busts in New England Patriots History
The 2011 NFL Draft is fast upon us, and everyone is wondering who will be the biggest busts this year.
History tends to repeat itself, and there have been some pretty historic busts in the Patriots past. Still, the Patriots have been fortunate not to miss on anyone too hard over the past few years (save for Laurence Maroney).
With that, let's take a look at seven of the biggest busts the Patriots have ever drafted.
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Andy Katzenmoyer
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Drafted: 1st round, 28th overall in 1999
And people wonder why Pete Carroll isn't given any of the credit for New England's success. Just about all of the productive talent on the Patriots' three Super Bowl squads came from either Bill Parcells or Bill Belichick.
Sure, he suffered a neck injury that arguably cut his career short, but some argue that he basically threw in the towel on his career rather than giving it another go. For a player who had as much promise as Katzenmoyer, that's really a shame.
Kevin Lee
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Drafted: 2nd round, 35th overall in 1994
It's hard to find much information on Lee, probably because he was only in the league for two very forgettable years. In that respect, though, it's not hard to see why Lee is considered a bust.
It was almost even harder finding a picture of Lee, so here's a rookie card. It's currently auctioning starting at 50 cents. Probably twice what it should be.
Here are the only bits of information you need to know: As the 35th overall pick, Lee played in nine games, starting two, and had eight receptions for 107 yards. Other than two of his games, all of those stats were with the Patriots in one year.
What he did in two games for the 49ers remains unknown. Ringing out towels? Fetching water for Steve Young?
The very next pick in the draft was Kevin Mawae, who ended up being a staple at center for 15 years.
Tony Eason
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Drafted: 1st round, 15th overall
I bounced back and forth on this for awhile, but settled on calling him a bust. The decision may have been slightly influenced by the Dolphins selecting Dan Marino 12 picks later, but wasn't entirely based on that.
Sure, Eason had a pair of good seasons. 1984 and 1986 were both solid statistically. One constant knock on Eason, though, was, for lack of a better term, cowardess in the face of a pass rush. He often would just fall to the ground instead of take a hit when the pocket collapsed.
In the end, it came down to the value the Patriots got relative to players selected around Eason as well as the fact that he was only in the league for seven years. For a first-round quarterback, you expect to get a little more out of a pick than what Eason gave New England.
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Chris Canty
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Drafted: 1st round, 29th overall in 1997
Pete Caroll loves cornerbacks. Usually, though, he targets corners of the big and physical variety. In Canty, Carroll selected a 5'9" 185-pounder that carried big-play promise that he never lived up to.
In fact, in his four years in the league he tallied just four interceptions. Only one of them even came in a Patriots uniform, as he spent the last two years of his career playing for the Seahawks and as a special teams player with the Saints.
He was rated as a mid-first round prospect headed into the draft, and slid a little bit due to a DUI charge. His leave from the league had less to do with that than with a poor transition to the NFL.
To make matters worse, the Dolphins picked up Sam Madison about 15 picks later. He ended up being a lockdown cornerback for over a decade.
Bethel Johnson
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Drafted: 2nd round, 45th overall in 2003
With the ability to stretch the field as a wide receiver and as a dangerous weapon in the return game, Bethel Johnson could impact a game at the drop of a hat. He was considered a steal in 2003.
Johnson had speed to burn. According to Sean Payton, that's about all he had. By the time he was traded to New Orleans in 2006, the two Super Bowl rings had gone to his head. All that was left were his ego and poor work ethic.
This is made a little tougher to swallow by the fact that Anquan Boldin was had nine picks later. Now that burns.
Vagas Ferguson
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Drafted: 1st round, 25th overall in 1980
Finding information on Ferguson beyond his days with Notre Dame was difficult. Perhaps that's a testament to how little of an impact he had in the NFL. If not, perhaps just three years in the league will paint the picture for you.
It's difficult to gauge exactly what a bust is when you go back this far in draft history. Still, a team should have expected more than out of their first-round pick than what Ferguson gave them. He had a high per-capita in 1981, but barely carried the ball. He had just 78 totes on the season.
Chad Jackson
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Drafted: 2nd round, 36th overall in 2006
Sometimes, a player simply doesn't transition well from the college game to the pros. With two solid years under his belt at Florida, it was believed Jackson could make an impact in the NFL. A solid performance at the combine solidified his draft stock to the point where the Patriots pulled a rare feat—they traded up to get him.
Still wondering why the Patriots haven't traded up in a while?
He didn't see the field at all in 2007, a real testament to how big of a miss he was—in case you missed it, the Patriots had plenty of receivers catch plenty of touchdowns that year.
Oh, and 16 picks later, the Packers would draft Greg Jennings.
Conclusion
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It's easy to get caught up in believing that the Patriots should have taken one certain player because they had a chance at him and he turned out to be a star. We forget, though, that hindsight is 20/20.
Grading prospects is exponentially easier after they've been in the league a few years than before they've ever played a down. Hence why they call them "prospects".
Anyone I missed? Let me know about it in the comments section. Thanks for reading!
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