Biggest Draft Bust In Arizona Cardinals History

[kerouac9]

Somewhat stunned by the results.

It's hard for me to label someone like Cooper or Wadsworth a "bust" knowing that they dealt with significant injuries right out of the gates. I can't compare them to guys like Leinart, Levi, and Bryant, who were healthy to start their careers and never produced because they didn't put in the time or energy to become better pros. Instead, they spent a ton of time rehabilitating, especially Wadsworth. If we're factoring in injuries in the equation, Beanie Wells should be an option in this poll because he struggled to solidify a career because he was always injured.

Here's how I rank our busts:

1. Wendell Bryant
2. Levi Brown
3. Matt Leinart
4. Tommy Knight
5. Thomas Jones

Didn't Leinart break his collarbone, prematurely ending his rookie season?

 

[Cheesebeef]

Didn't Leinart break his collarbone, prematurely ending his rookie season?

I don't think so. I remember him playing a really good game at the end of the year against a decent Holmgren Seattle team and pulling out a W. I think he broke his shoulder in early in Season 2, against the Rams... when Kurt was already playing platoon duty early in the season.

 

[kerouac9]

I don't think so. I remember him playing a really good game at the end of the year against a decent Holmgren Seattle team and pulling out a W. I think he broke his shoulder in early in Season 2, against the Rams... when Kurt was already playing platoon duty early in the season.

That game was in week 14.Leinart broke his collarbone in Week 16 against the 49ers about halfway through. Warner finished out the season.

Did Leinart get hurt the next year, too? He started the first four games, but Tim Rattay came in a bunch of times that season.

 

[BACH]

Rosenbach and Wadsworth were injury related and you could argue that Cooper was injury related as well. Some of the players didn't want to be in Az (Hearst and Jones). Some weren't that talented (Johnson and Knight) and shouldn't have been selected in the 1st. I can't blame Davis for playing out of position or Brown for being chosen ahead of AP.

That leaves talented players that didn't want to put in the effort.
I'm giving Bryant the "benefit" of being an addict and not being able to control himself. That leaves Leinart as the one player that was talented, have the right set-up and simply didn't want to put in the effort.

 

[Cheesebeef]

That game was in week 14.Leinart broke his collarbone in Week 16 against the 49ers about halfway through. Warner finished out the season.

Did Leinart get hurt the next year, too? He started the first four games, but Tim Rattay came in a bunch of times that season.

The next season (2007) was when he busted his shoulder as starter in St. Louis, but he was already platooning with Warner, starting with the Baltimore game and Pittsburg games before the Rams. Rattay was then brought in when Warner dislocated his elbow and ran some two point conversion stuff against Washington I think and played that woeful game where it was Rattay v. straight off the couch Testverde who BEAT us, playing for... the Lions or Panthers I think. Or maybe that's the game where Warner busted his elbow and Rattay came in. Then Warner returned against the Skins and Rattay ran some two point conversion ugliness. And then Rackers missed a 53 yard FG to win it and the board went cards crazy like it always did when he'd kick it outside the uprights, hitting us right in the balls.

After that, it was all Warner, all the time through the rest of the season where he led us to a 5-3 record in the last 8, throwing for like 27 TDs, 17 INTs and a billion yards.

And even after that, Leinart was STILL named the starter going into the 2008 season... until he was an abomination against the Raiders in Week 3 of the pre-season. Then Wiz named Warner... and we somehow got to the Super Bowl.

 

[Harry]

Wow, lots to chime in about. Steve Pisarkiewicz was Dollar Bill's idea. Hart was winding down and DB came up with the stellar idea to sign Pisarkiewicz from nearby Missouri. To be fair it didn't seem all that crazy on the surface because he led the then Big 12 in passing. However scouts warned he was a head case. They were right. He was not a leader. While he had a decent arm he never completed 50% of his passes. The coaching staff grew to hate him. It was weird. He got dumped but I think the Pack piceked him up though he didn't play for them as best I can recall.

I've got to defend Wadsworth. The problem was the Cards crack medical staff blew their evaluation. Both his knees were bad when they signed him. However, he had the heart of a lion and played in great pain. As a knee replacement guy I can tell you playing with bad knees is excruciating. As was always the case the Cards tried to avoid paying him and he missed training camp. However he jumped in when the season started and played decently as a DE. Late in the season the Cards DTs suffered injuries. He stepped inside and played great as one poster above noted. But predictably his knees failed. A few years later he tried microfracture surgery and attempted a comeback. He didn't make it. It may have been a bad pick but if his knees had held up I think he'd have been a Pro Bowl player. This guy was not a quitter as some labeled him.

Bryant had a mother problem. She interfered with the coaches at Wisconsin. I warned about this potential problem in my draft review and sure enough she did the same thing in AZ. This guy lacked the character strength to be an NFL player.

 

[Jetstream Green]

Rosenbach and Wadsworth were injury related and you could argue that Cooper was injury related as well. Some of the players didn't want to be in Az (Hearst and Jones). Some weren't that talented (Johnson and Knight) and shouldn't have been selected in the 1st. I can't blame Davis for playing out of position or Brown for being chosen ahead of AP.

That leaves talented players that didn't want to put in the effort.
I'm giving Bryant the "benefit" of being an addict and not being able to control himself. That leaves Leinart as the one player that was talented, have the right set-up and simply didn't want to put in the effort.

Knight was talented but injury prone... or rather lacked the toughness to play in the NFL, as Duane Starks which was a free agent bust for the same reasons

 

[oaken1]

Wadsworth actually had an impact on the field when he played. He was a big contributor on a playoff team and had a couple sacks in the playoff victory against Dallas.

Wendell Bryant literally did NOTHING. Ever. He couldn't even stay sober. He got suspended by the league and basically disappeared off the face of the earth.

Go look up both guys' career numbers and compare them. It's not even remotely close. I don't see why hype should be factored more than actual production (or lack there of). When isn't there hype surrounding a 1st rounder? Robert Nkemdiche anyone?

chemdip wasn't hailed as the second coming of Bruce Smith...and he didn't then hold out forever to squeeze every single dime he could from the team...before coming in and getting injured due to all the work he missed out on.

 

[oaken1]

Somewhat stunned by the results.

It's hard for me to label someone like Cooper or Wadsworth a "bust" knowing that they dealt with significant injuries right out of the gates. I can't compare them to guys like Leinart, Levi, and Bryant, who were healthy to start their careers and never produced because they didn't put in the time or energy to become better pros. Instead, they spent a ton of time rehabilitating, especially Wadsworth. If we're factoring in injuries in the equation, Beanie Wells should be an option in this poll because he struggled to solidify a career because he was always injured.

Here's how I rank our busts:

1. Wendell Bryant
2. Levi Brown
3. Matt Leinart
4. Tommy Knight
5. Thomas Jones

Leinart was a very good rookie....check the cardinals rookie passing records..... he was also injured, while trying to deal with an incoming coach whom didn't pick him.
slightly different circumstances and Leinart is still our starting QB today

 

[Big D]

chemdip wasn't hailed as the second coming of Bruce Smith...and he didn't then hold out forever to squeeze every single dime he could from the team...before coming in and getting injured due to all the work he missed out on.

I only brought up Nkemdiche to point out that there is hype around every 1st rounder, even guys taken at the very end of the round. I'm not trying to compare Nkemdiche to Wadsworth.

 

[Finito]

chemdip wasn't hailed as the second coming of Bruce Smith...and he didn't then hold out forever to squeeze every single dime he could from the team...before coming in and getting injured due to all the work he missed out on.

There was a time when rookie pay was not slotted and every Cardinal first rounder held out because they would want to pay the 3rd pick like the 12th the franchise was very cheap.

I don't consider guys who got hurt bust. It's not like Wadsworth woke up one day and was like you know what I think I want to have 20 knee surgeries and walk funny the rest of my life.

Guys like Leonard Davis and Thomas Jones were good players who were used wrong by us. They left and quickly became all pros.

 

[oaken1]

There was a time when rookie pay was not slotted and every Cardinal first rounder held out because they would want to pay the 3rd pick like the 12th the franchise was very cheap.

I don't consider guys who got hurt bust. It's not like Wadsworth woke up one day and was like you know what I think I want to have 20 knee surgeries and walk funny the rest of my life.

Guys like Leonard Davis and Thomas Jones were good players who were used wrong by us. They left and quickly became all pros.

there was also a time when the players just got what they got,...and were stuck with the same team their entire career unless traded. I remember both times...and either way you slice it wad was a bust... he never once demonstrated that he even wanted to play pro football....he just demonstrated that he wanted to get paid..


from his wiki....


A lengthy holdout ensued, centered almost directly on both his demand to be paid closer to the contracts signed by the two previous picks, Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning out of University of Tennessee at No. 1 and the San Diego Chargers' Ryan Leaf from Washington State University at No. 2 rather than one closer to Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson selected by the Oakland Raiders at No. 4, and a provision allowing him to void the contract before expiration if he chose to do so.



dude wanted to be paid like a quarterback......


screw that chump.

 

[Shane]

Somewhat stunned by the results.

It's hard for me to label someone like Cooper or Wadsworth a "bust" knowing that they dealt with significant injuries right out of the gates. I can't compare them to guys like Leinart, Levi, and Bryant, who were healthy to start their careers and never produced because they didn't put in the time or energy to become better pros. Instead, they spent a ton of time rehabilitating, especially Wadsworth. If we're factoring in injuries in the equation, Beanie Wells should be an option in this poll because he struggled to solidify a career because he was always injured.

Here's how I rank our busts:

1. Wendell Bryant
2. Levi Brown
3. Matt Leinart
4. Tommy Knight
5. Thomas Jones

How was Levi Brown a bust? The guy started in 79 out of possible 82 games... Was the starting LT for a SB team in AZ... Sure he had some mental lapses at times but hardly a "bust"

 

[gmabel830]

How about a Bryant Johnson/ Calvin Pace parlay?

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[Finito]

there was also a time when the players just got what they got,...and were stuck with the same team their entire career unless traded. I remember both times...and either way you slice it wad was a bust... he never once demonstrated that he even wanted to play pro football....he just demonstrated that he wanted to get paid..


from his wiki....


A lengthy holdout ensued, centered almost directly on both his demand to be paid closer to the contracts signed by the two previous picks, Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning out of University of Tennessee at No. 1 and the San Diego Chargers' Ryan Leaf from Washington State University at No. 2 rather than one closer to Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson selected by the Oakland Raiders at No. 4, and a provision allowing him to void the contract before expiration if he chose to do so.



dude wanted to be paid like a quarterback......


screw that chump.

Ok guy

 

[TJ]

How was Levi Brown a bust? The guy started in 79 out of possible 82 games... Was the starting LT for a SB team in AZ... Sure he had some mental lapses at times but hardly a "bust"

That was Mike Gandy who started at LT in 2008. Levi was RT until 2010, when he was switched to LT to let Brandon Keith be Leinart's blindside blocker, prior to Leinart being cut.

As for Levi, for being the 5th pick, he was always amongst the worst blindside blockers in the league year in and year out, which was troublesome. He never improved his technique, was not disciplined, and never got stronger. The only reason he stayed on the team for so long was because he was extremely durable up until the 2012 season. It took four games into the 2013 season for BA and Keim to realize what fans had been complaining about for six years: this guy was terrible and dumped him off to Pittsburgh for literally nothing in return.

 

[Metcalf Rules]

How about a Bryant Johnson/ Calvin Pace parlay?

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Wasn't that the draft where the Cards got Anquan Boldin in the second round? He was such a beast and great player for us, it kind of helped ease the pain of the head scratching Johnson/Pace picks.

 

[gmabel830]

Wasn't that the draft where the Cards got Anquan Boldin in the second round? He was such a beast and great player for us, it kind of helped ease the pain of the head scratching Johnson/Pace picks.

Yes, agree.. but a Suggs/Boldin draft would have been right near the top of all time franchise drafts.

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[Osbern61]

Yes, agree.. but a Suggs/Boldin draft would have been right near the top of all time franchise drafts.

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Yeah, Suggs was a no brainer at that spot.

 

[POISON]

Okay I'm cheating, but this was possibly the worst choice in NFL history. Back when they were the STL Cardinals Dollar Bill instructed the GM that he should find a draft choice who would sign for the amount DB wanted to pay. In fact they negotiated a contract before the draft. This led the NFL to make it illegal for any team to negotiate with a player except for the first pick. His name was Clyde Duncan, a WR from Tenn. His career lasted 11 games. He caught 4 passes for a total of 39 yards. That was what it was like to be a Cardinal fan in those days.

I remember that crummy pick, Clyde was awful. I still believe Steve Little the kicker 1st rounder in 1978 was the worst if you include St Louis Cardinals. Read my earlier post in this thread, it's an awful story regardless of football.

 

[mojorizen7]

What's a Wadsworth anyway...

3rd overall pick
Held out forever before being signed
Played in only one full season
Out of the league after three years

Wrecked knees or not....a monumental bust and a devastatingly disappointing pick

 

[NJCardFan]

How about a Bryant Johnson/ Calvin Pace parlay?

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Pace is actually a good player who was active until a couple seasons ago. He would have been a huge asset on the SB team had we not let him walk. Sure he didn't put up Suggs numbers but he was a good LB for us but Whiz let him walk in favor of his plethora of former Stealers who came though this team during his run.

 

[juza76]

leenart?

 

[NJCardFan]

leenart?

You've been here long enough to get that joke.

 

[football karma]

i picked Levi Brown because:

A: Those days, rare for a top 10 OL to not be very good
B: They passed on Adrian Peterson to take him

thats a bad combo