Top 10 Atlanta Falcons All Time Draft Busts
The Falcons have had their share of NFL Draft misfires, to be sure.
''Bruce should have been a signal for the franchise to steer clear of early-round pass rushers from the SEC in the future. Bruce accumulated a mere 16 sacks over four seasons before he fizzled out with the Falcons. While he continued that string of under-production with the Raiders until 1998, Aundray Bruce will go down as the worst decision Atlanta has ever made on Draft Day.'' Yep the dude had so much potential to be that next great running back based on his size stunningly none of that worked out well, and thus deserves the top honor as the worst choice by the Dirty Birds.
''Pickens could have solidified Atlanta’s secondary alongside future Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders, forming a 1990’s version of the No-Fly-Zone. This did not materialize even on a microscopic level for Atlanta. Pickens tallied a paltry two interceptions while with the team, and was shipped off to Green Bay after two awful seasons.'' An epic misfire that was you could of had the best secondary in football, but it never worked well enough in only 2 short lived seasons.
''The defensive end out of Arkansas could not figure it out at the NFL level, and that’s an understatement. Jamaal's prolific pass-rush ability as a Razorback never translated professionally, putting together 4.5 sacks with the Falcons, and a disappointing total of 7.5 across his entire career. Atlanta released him without a second thought in 2011.''
''Smith was selected 19th in the 1992 draft. A running back out of Southern Miss, Smith was somewhat of a symptom of a proxy war between Atlanta’s front office and head coach Jerry Glanville, who was adamant the team address the defense instead. Atlanta chose not to re-sign him once his rookie contract expired, and the Falcons were left with nothing but mind-numbing regret after letting Brett Favre go.'' In terms of the significance of what it did to the Falcons they had a chance to win a super bowl with Favre, and let him get to Green bay as a quarterback phenom.
''Profit was a first round selection in 1971, going to the Falcons with the seventh pick out of the University of Louisiana-Monroe. Profit suffered a major knee injury in the fourth week of his first season. As Profit himself noted to me, that kind of injury was catastrophic in the 1970's, and it did indeed cost him his career. I'm appreciative that he's corrected the record. In his rookie season, he rushed three times for 10 yards and a touchdown. The next year, 40 for 132 and no touchdowns. In 1973, 18 times for 55 yards and two touchdowns. In 1974, he was a Saint, and by 1975, he was out of football. He retired with an anemic 3.5 yards per carry.''
''Bean, running back out of Texas A&M. Long story short, he lasted three seasons in a league that was very running back focused. All three of his seasons combined, in what’s become a passing-oriented league. Tallying 1,528 yards and 6 career rushing touchdowns, after being a top 10 pick, no thank you.'' Bean is definitely the biggest running back bust of Atlanta considering they have been able to get by in the running game over the years many forget those dark ages when he was the starter in the 76 season.
''Booker never really lived up to expectations, as he was only with the Falcons for three years, and only in the league for five. Notching three interceptions in his rookie campaign, he looked promising �" but he couldn’t ever seem to reach his potential ceiling.'' With a full name like that used expect that to be a wide receiver, but not his a corner a poor shut down one at best to.
''A guy they traded back into the first round to nab: Sam Baker. Baker didn’t seem like such a bad pick at the time. However, he was plagued by injuries and just never got his feet set under him. His short arms earned him the nickname T-Rex from some Falcons fans and prevented him from being an effective force in the trenches.'' In today's league you can't win with alligator arms that's for sure.
''Jerry’s legacy in Atlanta is that he should have been Clay Matthews. Atlanta selected the Ole Miss DT at the 24 the spot in 2009 draft, one slot ahead of the future Green Bay linebacker, in a decision that general manager Thomas Dim itroff laments to this day. Peria Jerry’s tenure was defined by injuries, and he famously retired from the NFL during Atlanta’s season of Hard Knocks.'' He had potential to be a force, but was never reached full limits thus he left during production of something very interesting.
He was the first pick in the 1989 draft, and humorously enough got zero touchdowns receiving as a Wide receiver of his position that deserves a spot on the list. Almost a lotta nothing in his few starts of only 5 receptions, and 52 years.