NFL front offices are hoping they can find several impact players that will immediately help their team in the draft, but there are always guys in every draft class that fall short of expectations. Here are five prospects that could be potential busts:
Dorial Green-Beckham has as much talent as any receiver in the draft, and at 6’6″, could provide the team with a big red zone target. However, numerous off-field issues – including burglary and assault charges – caused him to transfer from Mizzou to Oklahoma and raise giant red flags. Green-Beckham still needs time to develop into something beyond a deep threat, and with his troubled past, he's a headache teams don't need.
Holliman turned heads by picking off 14 passes last season, tying an NCAA record, but the combine showed he’s not very athletic, and he struggled to make tackles this year. He has a much better chance of being a bust than he does of exceeding expectations.
Funchess projects somewhere in the second round on most NFL draft pundits’ boards, but we’re not sold on anyone drafting him even in the third round if he somehow dropped. While he has the size to create mismatches, his lacks the build, hands, and finishing grit that a true top-flight NFL receiver needs to succeed on this level. He might put it all together, but right now there’s a lot of sizzle and not so much steak with the former Michigan Wolverine.
Williams is projected to be a late first round pick, but teams would be wise to steer clear of the Minnesota Golden Gophers standout even if the talented TE slips into second-round purgatory. His body’s a bit soft, his route running/blocking is in need of work, and his attitude? “That Minnesota tight end came across as all about himself from what people in our room said (at the combine). They were a little turned off by him,” one NFC scout told NFL.com. This might be an ‘avoid at all costs’ kind of deal.
Goldman probably has the biggest upside of any lineman in the draft as he has the size, strength, and quickness to be disruptive in all phases of the game, but his inconsistency and lackluster work ethic mean that potential may never be realized. He's projected to be a first round pick because of that potential, yet teams would be smart to wait until the second round to draft him.