Biggest Arizona Cardinals 1st Round Draft Pick Bust

[82CardsGrad]

Incredible that Matty doesn't top everyone's list... Sure, Wadsworth was highly touted and then failed due to devastating injuries... And yes, Wendall Bryant never, EVER showed up. BUT - none of these guys ever received the hype that Leinart did. He was touted as "The most NFL-ready QB to ever come out of college"!

In terms of "what was supposed to be" versus "what became reality", I just don't think this is even up for debate... It's Matty all the way...

 

[Totally_Red]

Wendell BRYANT! As I recall the jackwagon even held out on us. What a pile of cr@p.

 

[oaken1]

Wadsworth.....dude was billed as the second coming of Bruce Smith....and then he played us like a fiddle...raped the front office while they were under extreme fan heat.....dude never wanted to play football...never played til he was in college and saw he had ability...he got dinged up in the pros, took an inury settlement and bailed..............

the lesson learned with andre "the bust" wadsworth??

Never EVER draft a finance major in the first round

 

[gmabel830]

Wendell Bryant -- a dude so bad we can't even remember his correct name, apparently.

 

[jerseycard]

How can nobody remember the worst no1 EVER olb Anthony Hill out of Michigan st he was so bad during the draft nobody even had film for him

 

[Buckybird]

How can nobody remember the worst no1 EVER olb Anthony Hill out of Michigan st he was so bad during the draft nobody even had film for him

ARIZONA!!!

Btw it was Anthony Bell & IMO he wasn't as bad as these names: Clyde Duncan, Steve Pisarkiewicz, Steve Little or John Lee

 

[chickenhead]

I wouldn't put Leinart at the top of my list. He fell from consensus #1 after his junior year, and when we got him at #10 many thought it was a steal. He hasn't made much of his career, but I'm not sure I put him in the category with Akili Smith, Tim Couch, and Ryan Leaf.

 

[D-Dogg]

Calvin PAce wasnt a bust. Per your list IMO Its clearly Wadsworth. With his hype coming out of college? Ferguson crying on draft day? Injury or not clearly the BIGGEST bust and its not even close. MAtt Leinart not so close close 2nd though!

I don't classify injured players as busts. That's simply a function of luck of the draw.

A bust is expecting one type of player and getting a VERY different player. Now, I happen to believe that a lot of what ruined Leinart was the shoulder injury, but it ruined him MENTALLY, and not physically. And as a QB, they expect "the gift from God" as Denny termed the pick to be mentally solid. Matty being one of the most decorated QBs of all time and in a system that emulated NFL conditions, the expectations were huge. And MATT failed, not his body. Wadsworth's body failed him, not his play.

IMO...it's Matt.

 

[PJ1]

ARIZONA!!!

Btw it was Anthony Bell & IMO he wasn't as bad as these names: Clyde Duncan, Steve Pisarkiewicz, Steve Little or John Lee

Clyde Duncan will always stand out in my mind. Couldn't read the playbook.

 

[earthsci]

No f'n way. He was the last of the "dominant" DT's taken that year and he was the least hyped.

Albert Haynesworth went three picks later. I would take the 7 or 8 dominant years of crazy Al over Wendell.

 

[joko4]

Rosenbach & Wadsworth where medical tragedies, actually they would have been good players, I do not call terrible injuries a bust.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Lienart all the way.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Wendall Bryant. The kid had no game at all.

 

[gmabel830]

According to one recent poster, the answer is obviously Michael "Mega-Bust" Floyd.

 

[Duckjake]

If bust = worst Player & return on investment it's Bryant. Costliest failure it's Leinart. We're still paying for that one. And paying through the nose.

 

[john h]

Who would you all consider our biggest 1st round pick bust? Here are the candidates:

Eric Hill, LB 1989
Tim Rosenbach, QB 1989(supplemental draft)
Tom Knight, DB, 1997
Andre Wadsworth, DE 1998
Thomas Jones, RB 2000
Leonard Davis, T 2001
Wendell Bryant, DT 2002
Bryant Johnson, WR 2003
Calvin Pace, DE 2003
Matt Leinart, QB 2006
Levi Brown, T 2007
Other

As you've probably noticed, there is a considerable gap between 1989 and 1987 but a few years we didn't have a 1st round pick or our pick wasn't that bad(Eric Swann, Simeon Rice, Garrison Hearst/Ernest Dye, Jamir Miller) all of which were good or in Dye's case, was in a career ending car accident. Anyhoo, if any of these belong, by all means vote other but have at it.

I do not understand how anyone can consider Thomas Jones a bust. After leaving the Cards after an injury he went on to be a big time runner for many years in the NFL. Good ole Buddy Ryan did this one I think. He was not a backup RB but prime time.

 

[john h]

How in the world could you include Eric Hill? He played well for 11 years in the NFL, almost all with AZ. Thomas Jones, Calvin Pace, and Leonard Davis can't be considered busts...Jones had a pretty good career, after he left the Cards...same with Pace...he shouldn't have been a 1st round pick, but that's not his fault...did he live up to expectations, no, but he certainly wasn't a bust...As for Davis, he was forced to play out of position with the Cards...he leaves and look what happened...

Did not Davis go on to be the starter for a good Cowboy team? Is that a bust? We seem to have had a run on DB's for a time none of which turned out well and as I recall they were 1st rounders. Cannot recall names. Some of these guys were bust only for the Cards but became good NFL players after getting out of Dodge.

 

[NJCardFan]

ARIZONA!!!

Btw it was Anthony Bell & IMO he wasn't as bad as these names: Clyde Duncan, Steve Pisarkiewicz, Steve Little or John Lee

John Lee wasn't a first round pick. 1986 the aforementioned Anthony Bell was our 1st round pick. And to answer the question from the new guy, Bell isn't on this list because he was drafted while we were still in St. Louis. If I listed all bad 1st round picks, the all time list would begin and end with Clyde Duncan. Now, as for picking John Lee when we did, this is what happens when you go through seasons with Neil O'Donahue and Nova Bajovic but what makes that pick particularly painful are the players drafted after him like Ernest Givens, Webster Slaughter, & Pepper Johnson.

 

[NJCardFan]

Rosenbach & Wadsworth where medical tragedies, actually they would have been good players, I do not call terrible injuries a bust.

Rosenbach came back and was completely healthy, however, the injury devastated his psyche. The injury didn't end his career. How he reacted to it did.

 

[NJCardFan]

I do not understand how anyone can consider Thomas Jones a bust. After leaving the Cards after an injury he went on to be a big time runner for many years in the NFL. Good ole Buddy Ryan did this one I think. He was not a backup RB but prime time.

Wrong on Ryan. Jones was drafted in 2000, 5 years after Buddy. You're thinking of Garrison Hearst who Buddy cut. As for Jones, he is a bust because he did nothing here.

 

[gmabel830]

Kolb came back and was completely healthy, however, the injury devastated his psyche. The injury didn't end his career. How he reacted to it did.

Kind of fitting, no?

 

[az1965]

1a: Wendall Bryant!!! What a complete joke this guy was!!!!!
1b: Andre Wadsworth... what a wasted #3!!
1c: Tom Knight... true example of "made of glass"
2: Matt Leinart

 

[az1965]

Thomas Jones and Calvin Pace were not busts. They just did not work out for us.

Pace actually had a solid year in 2007, his last year with Cards, that propelled him to get an outrageous contract from Jets.

Jones had very successful stints with Bears and Jets, consistently rushing 1000+ yards. 2008/09 years were the best for him... scoring 13/14 TD's and rushing for 1400 yards (2009).

 

[perivolaki]

Thomas Jones and Calvin Pace were not busts. They just did not work out for us.(2009).

I didn't pick Jones but he has a negative place in my heart.

He was one of those guys that had a mystery injury that got much much better after he left the Cardinals.

I don't think anyone knows to this day what his Cardinal injury was.

 

[Phrazbit]

I dont see how you can ignore injuries. Wadsworth was picked 3rd overall and was out of the league in a few short seasons. 7 of the 10 players picked immediately after him went to pro-bowls. He was a monumental bust. To say he isnt a bust is like saying Oden wasnt a bust, Sam Bowie wasnt a bust... Matt Leinart wasnt a bust. Injuries are part of the game, they matter. He couldnt stay on the field... he was a huuuuuge bust.

His biggest saving grace could be that the biggest bust of all-time was taken right in front of him.