NFL Youngsters Who Have Shed the Bust Label in 2019

The bust label isn't an easy one to shake. 

This applies to all sports but is especially pertinent in the NFL. There are only 16 games per season for players to get it right, and the draft is arguably bigger than the Super Bowl. 

Fans expect instant gratification, but some draftees just take longer. Sometimes a supposed bust just needs a few years, or injuries have gotten in his way. Other times, a scheme change or a change of scenery moves someone out of the bust realm.

These are the players who previously flirted with the bust label but have managed to wiggle free of its grasp in 2019. 

DeVante Parker, WR, Miami Dolphins

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Nobody would have blamed the Miami Dolphins for moving on from 2015 first-round pick DeVante Parker. 

His best season came in 2016, when he caught 56 passes for 744 yards and four scores over 15 games, but he largely failed to sniff the expectations that came with being a top-15 pick. 

Through 11 games this season, however, he's caught 46 passes for 695 yards and four scores, and he has 37 first-down grabs. 

All the more impressive, Parker has done this on a tanking team with quarterback issues, and he has performed well against top corners like the Buffalo Bills' Tre'Davious White. The 26-year-old had seven receptions on 10 targets for 135 yards in that matchup.

Patience has paid off for the Dolphins. 

John Ross, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

John Froschauer/Associated Press

Feel free to call it the year of wideout redemption. 

John Ross has looked like one of the Cincinnati Bengals' bigger draft duds ever since coming aboard in 2017 as the ninth pick. He only played three games as a rookie, but he made 13 appearances (10 starts) in 2018 and had seven touchdowns. Those came mostly in short-yardage scenarios, however; he caught just 21 of 58 targets for 210 yards. 

But under offensive-minded head coach Zac Taylor, things changed in Ross' third year. Over the first four weeks, he had 328 receiving yards and three scores while averaging 20.5 yards per catch. 

Granted, Ross suffered a collarbone injury that has kept him sidelined since Week 4. The Bengals staff was willing to let him play through growing pains, though, which has helped him showcase that the pick was not a waste. The 25-year-old wideout appears to be a key building block for a team that has scored more than 17 points without him in the lineup just once. 

Eli Apple, CB, New Orleans Saints

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Eli Apple crashed and burned with the New York Giants after coming off the board 10th overall in 2016. 

Big Blue finally dealt Apple to the New Orleans Saints in the middle of his third season. The return was meager in the form of fourth and seventh-round picks. The Saints declined his fifth-year option in May.

Yet in 2019, Apple is 11-game starter who has played at least 95 percent of his team's defensive snaps in each contest and allowed only a 56.4 percent completion rate on 55 targets. The 24-year-old is in the green at Pro Football Focus, with his 71.9 grade the first time he's slotted above 65. 

It seems as though the right system and staff helped change the narrative for Apple, which means the Saints aren't likely to second-guess giving him a fifth year and more soon. 

Bud Dupree, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Gary Landers/Associated Press

Bud Dupree has seemingly come out of nowhere. 

The No. 22 pick in 2015 was looking like he'd be off the Pittsburgh Steelers roster after his fifth season.

Not anymore. 

The 26-year-old linebacker has made a head-turning leap, having posted 10 hurries, seven sacks and 21 pressures over 11 games. Compare that to last year's 16-game numbers of 13 hurries, 5.5 sacks and 25 pressures. He's looked like a different player in all facets, hence an 82.9 grade at PFF, up from 60.4 the year prior. Even his three forced fumbles and 44 tackles are career highs. 

Dupree hasn't only shedded the bust label, but he's also had a timely breakout in a contract year.

Arik Armstead, DE, San Francisco 49ers

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Some likely scratched their heads when the San Francisco 49ers picked up Arik Armstead's fifth-year option. 

After all, he was a top-20 pick in 2015 with just nine sacks over his first four seasons, and he seemed relatively lost as the defense went through schematic changes. Injuries didn't help, as he was limited to eight or fewer games in two campaigns. 

But the 49ers sure look smart now. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh's Wide 9 alignment, paired with Armstead's developmental track, has everyone looking like a winner. The 26-year-old defensive end has flourished with 12 hurries, 10 sacks and 27 pressures, not to mention an 88.8 grade at PFF (up more than 10 points from the previous campaign). 

Kudos to 49ers coaches for making it work and to Armstead for living up to, if not exceeding, his draft slot. 

Frank Ragnow, C, Detroit Lions

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Frank Ragnow's first season looked rough enough that he heard the bust whispers right away. 

But the Detroit Lions shifted him to center for his sophomore campaign, and the 23-year-old looks like one of the NFL's best already. 

That was fast. The 20th pick in 2018 went from a lost-looking guard to a grade of 74.0 at PFF, up from 61.9. In September, MLive.com's Kyle Meinke noted Ragnow was the league's top run-blocking center.

Keep in mind this turnaround has happened while he has been dealing with multiple quarterbacks thanks to back and hip injuries that have sidelined Matthew Stafford.