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2014 NFL Draft: 5 Potential Busts

The 2014 NFL draft might have been one of the deepest in the recent history of the league, but this doesn’t mean that there aren’t going to be some major busts. We see it every single year. A team selects what many consider to be a high-upside player, but ends up falling flat on its face because of said selection. We were reminded of this when Aaron Maybin, the No. 11 overall pick in the 2009 draft, announced his retirement on Tuesday. 

Looking at the 2014 draft class, we have found five players who could very well bust out in pretty much the same short period of time that we saw Maybin go from first-round pick to former NFL player.

1. Blake Bortles, Quarterback, Jacksonville Jaguars

John David Mercer, USA Today: Bortles has tremendous upside, but also possesses a low floor.

John David Mercer, USA Today: Bortles has tremendous upside, but also possesses a low floor.

While it’s way too early to call the selection of Bortles a major reach for the Jaguars, using the No. 3 overall pick on him might have been a case of over-drafting. Bortles was my third-ranked quarterback heading in, which means I view him as a potential franchise guy. His ability to succeed at the next level will depend heavily on what the Jaguars do with him. Will he start out of the gate as an unpolished rookie or will he be given time to learn the nuances of the NFL? That could be a determining factor here.

Bortles, who boasts all the physical abilities a franchise quarterback needs, must improve on technique, pocket awareness and ball placement in order to be considered a starting quarterback in the NFL. Throwing him into the fire before any of that is taken care of could lead to some long-term effects and a potential Blaine Gabbert-like free fall. With all that said, Bortles is a much more talented quarterback than the player he will be tasked with succeeding in Jacksonville. That much cannot really be questioned.

2. Johnny Manziel, Quarterback, Cleveland Browns

It’s going to be boom or bust for Manziel in Cleveland. He’s the type of player that we really don’t have a professional comparison to. Manziel’s rare combination of athletic ability outside the pocket, accuracy on intermediate routes and a strong down-field arm, makes him one of the highest-upside quarterbacks to enter the NFL over the past two seasons. It is, however, these strengths that should worry people.

Will Manziel’s game translate to the NFL? Will the Browns let him manage the game like we’ve seen from Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson or will he be asked to do too much too early? Answer these two questions and you will be able to draw a final conclusion. As it is, Manziel is at least one year away from being a viable starting quarterback in the NFL. Cleveland simply cannot throw him into the fire and expect immediate production. That’s not going to happen.

3. Kelvin Benjamin, Wide Receiver, Carolina Panthers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5Op_jb6yGo

At a ridiculous 6’5″ and 243 pounds, Benjamin will provide Cam Newton with a huge receiving target on the outside and in the red zone. This is the type of player that Newton was missing during his first three years in the NFL. That’s not going to be an issue for this new quarterback-wide receiver tandem. Instead, Benjamin is going to have to work on a few different things in order to avoid being the next Charles Rodgers.

He struggles creating separation in the defensive backfield, which is only going to be magnified when going up against pro-level cornerbacks. In addition to this, Benjamin struggles catching the ball in tight spaces, consistently letting it get to his body. This enables defenders to jar the ball loose at time, something else that is magnified at the NFL level. If Benjamin cannot prove tha he’s able to make plays in traffic and gain second-level separation, he might be nothing more than a decent possession receiver. That’s not exactly what Carolina is looking for after selecting him over the likes of Jordan Matthews, Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson, Davante Adams and Cody Latimer.

4. Calvin Pryor, Safety, New York Jets

Selecting Pryor ahead of the likes of Ha’Sean Clinton-Dix, Deone Bucannon and Jimmie Ward was a questionable decision for the Jets. He’s not nearly the all-around players that those three are, but definitely does fit what the Rex Ryan and Co. are attempting to build in the defensive secondary. He’s a hard hitter that isn’t afraid to lay the wood with reckless abandon. He dominates in the box, does a tremendous job reading and drawing out runs, and is about as solid as it comes in terms of physicality.

However, Pryor is going to struggle a great deal in coverage in the back end. He consistently takes bad angles on the ball, struggles recognizing where to be in the defensive secondary and isn’t too good making plays on the ball. If Pryor is asked to do anything outside of playing a traditional strong safety role in New York, these weaknesses are going to be magnified. With a young secondary, I worry that he will be asked to do just that. If so, we could be looking at some major struggles early on that could lead to confidence issues down the road.

5. Greg Robinson, Offensive Line, St. Louis Rams

We focused on Robinson likely playing guard out of the gate in an article earlier this week. There are two primary reasons that the Rams are planning on moving him inside early on in his career. First,  he simply doesn’t have the technique down to take on speed rushers on the outside. Robinson struggles with the knee bend and gets too upright at the point of contact. Second, the Rams don’t necessarily have a need for a tackle at this point, and Robinson is an absolute mauler in the run game.

If Robinson is still being relegated to the inside of the line two years from now, that’s going to be a major concern. You simply don’t take a player at that position No. 2 overall in the draft. While moving Robinson inside initially makes perfect sense, St. Louis knows full well that can’t be his long-term role on the team. Hopefully he gets the aforementioned issues straightened out while going up against some of the most dominating defenses the NFL has to offer in the NFC West.

Photo: Brad Penner, USA Today

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