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  • April 28, 2008 05:08 PM ET

Which DEFENSIVE player chosen in the first round of the NFL draft will become the biggest bust?

jumpman23 (6-10-0) vs Terpsfan is Maxwell Smart (30-14-1)
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I say Derrick Harvey, drafted #8 by the Jaguars.

The Jaguars, unbelievably enough, traded UP to grab Harvey, so he must have been pretty high on their board. I like Harvey as a player, but he shouldnt be so high.

Harvey was a huge reach at #8. In college, he was inconsistent and disappeared from games...a lot. I thought of Harvey as a rock-solid first rounder, and a team that picked him in the mid first round would get great value. But in the top 10? No way.

Now Harve's expectations are much, much bigger than they would be if he was picked from the 10-18 range, for example. In my opinion, the Jags are spending a lot of money on a guy who may not end up ever getting 10 sacks in a season.

Harvey, like I said before, was inconsistent in college and that's pretty difficult to improve in the NFL. He's probably going to have to switch to linebacker, which is an extremely difficult position to adjust to. College linemen are very, very different from NFL linemen. They know how to block, and Harvey is gonna have some trouble with them...

I feel bad for the Jaguars, who are going to have to invest a ton of money into a guy who I thought is not top-10 material, by no means.


For my bust, I will go with Aquib Talib. Reading the scouting report from ESPN.com it sounds as if this guy is an extremely risky pick. The scouting report tells me that he is out of position and gets burned alot (I'm seeing Samari Rolle). Aside from that they say he has good size, and can get physical in coverage.

But as a corner, the worst thing you can do, is be out of position/ get burned by a WR, getting burned by a WR=Instant points most of the time, and since the CB position is 1-1, this makes it even worse for a team to draft a guy who has issues with staying in position.

Besides his playing career, he has failed three drug tests in his college career, it's good that this was addressed now, but we can't be too sure of how good his character is. This guy could be the next Pacman Jones.

Harvey is a good pick, the Jags added a solid young guy to their line. Reading the scouting report, they point out his weakness, he isn't as explosive as people would like, but he has longer arms and times jumps well. This is huge in deflecting some passes (especially w/ Peyton Manning).


You made a good choice in Talib. However, I can counter this.

Talib was called by many as "the draft's most talented cornerback." Obviously, if he has been called so talented by so many, he's got a TON of raw talent, considering how deep this year's cornerback class was.

I have read about Harvey as well, and althought he might end up being okay in the long run, I have doubts that he won't make much of an impact in a few years.

Harvey will most likely switch to linebacker. He's got some talent, I think, but he was WAY too inconsistent in college for me to say he'll be a perennial Pro Bowler.

For example, he redshirted as a freshman. Fine with me, if it helps his development as a player. But he didn't break out until he's a redshirt sophomore. He has 11 sacks, including 3 in the BCS Championship.

If anything, Harvey should have entered the draft then, seeing his production. He had nothing to lose then.

But instead, he doesn't. His combine 40 time: 4.8. Now, that's pretty good for a DE, but seeing that most if not all NFL teams would switch him to OLB, that's not gonna cut it.

Harvey is really inconsistent as a pass rusher and that hurts him. He gets knockd down


Harvey isn't as inconsistent as you would think, in 2007 he racked up 8 (solo) total sacks, and 15 solo tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Plus the Jags are going to play him at RE, he is going to compete against Quentin Groves. Personally I think the Jags will give Harvey RE, since they want their younger talent to get experience, and so they can see how he does.

The impressive thing for me, is that against Michigan (in the bowl game), when all the pressure was on, he was able to get 2 sacks, and 4 solo tackles. And this was on national television against one of the better football schools in Michigan.

Looking at Talib he raises too many red flags. Where Harvey is criticized for not being explosive enough, Talib looks to be too explosive (on and off the field). The kid has issues off the field which will hurt him in the long run, he has had to be repeatedly suspended for his actions, and I don't think he'll pan out.

Getting burned by a reciever is never good, one break down in a defense can result in a chain rection, since he gets beat, the safety has to cover for him, then the safety's position is exposed to the QB. Playing in a Cover two can't save Talib.


The thing about Harvey is that he does not have great closing speed. That can really hurt him. Offensive linemen are going to be a lot different on the NFL level.

Yes, Harvey might have had a good showing against Michigan. But I'll show you some of his games from 07, from the beginning of the year:

Western Kentucky 2.0 sacks
Troy 0 sacks
#12 Tennessee 0 sacks

Now, Tennessee and Troy are no pushovers, but Tennessee's offensive line is not that special, as is Troy's. There's no excuse for beating up on less skilled opponents but not playing to your full talent against the big boys. Is he going to do this in the NFL? Probably, and it will take a while to adjust.

I love Talib as a player. He has great speed, agility, and ball skills. I also like his versatitlity as a returner. He also performed wonderfully in the Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech.

I also like how physical he can be in coverage and how he can reroute receivers at the line of scrimmage. He reminds me somewhat of Al Harris. He's also an above-average open field tackler for a corner.

I love how much upside Talib has. In the Tampa 2, he could be very successful with two good safties Harvey needs work.


Let's say this, both Harvey and Talib need work, they both have weak-points. They will also be gifted by playing with good supporting casts (Jaguars D-Line and Tampa's good secondary).

Harvey doesn't have to do too much, after all, he'll be lining up next to John Henderson every snap, this is huge to be playing next to a great DT. Henderson is gonna draw attention, and Harvey can do what he does. Harvey has the great ability to deflect passes at the line of scrimmage. In his division with Peyton Manning it is critical to get a hand on that football and defelct some of those passes.

With Vince Young's side-arm pass, it'll be a lot easier for the Jags to get a hand on his passes. You mentioned that Harvey is inconsitent, and that may be true, but there will be a harder push to strive for the better.

Talib as I have repeatedly said is questionable in character, he could be the next Ricky Williams, or Pacman Jones. This was a large risk to take, and Talib may not live up to expectations.

April 28, 2008  05:11 PM ET

Jerod Mayo, he went way too high

April 28, 2008  05:11 PM ET

i have one and his last name ennd with -olston

April 28, 2008  05:12 PM ET

ends*

April 28, 2008  05:13 PM ET

Hold on about half an hour, sorry, I kno who I'm choosing.

April 28, 2008  05:18 PM ET

Aquib Talib.

April 28, 2008  05:20 PM ET

LIFER guessed right kids....

April 28, 2008  05:21 PM ET

Leodis McKelvin. Hahaha! Just playing Goodell. McShay is thinking Gholston. I'm thinking Harvey. We'll see though.

April 28, 2008  05:21 PM ET

Matt Ryan

April 28, 2008  05:23 PM ET

Matt Ryan indeed, but his is Defensive.

April 28, 2008  05:23 PM ET

* this, not his.

April 28, 2008  05:28 PM ET

----------------------------------------------------------->

Terps nailed it

April 28, 2008  05:29 PM ET

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfldraft/draft/tracker/round?round=1& amp;draftyear=2008

ESPN Scouting Report

April 28, 2008  05:29 PM ET

Gholston is a physical specimen like none other. He has only been playing for football for the past 5 years so everything he has done has been on pure athleticism. With some proper coaching he will be one of the most feared players of all time.

When he benches the bar has an extreme bend. All of his teammates used to just sit and watch him lift, because he was so amazing in the weight room.

April 28, 2008  05:32 PM ET

just because your big, and have arms as big as heads, doesnt mean you can keep up with the pace of the NFL

April 28, 2008  05:35 PM ET

just because your big, and have arms as big as heads, doesnt mean you can keep up with the pace of the NFL

Stecky is Trevor Laws | 04/28/08, 05:32 PM
Report Offensive Comment

It doesn't mean you can't either....

April 28, 2008  05:36 PM ET

Aqib Talib might be bad, but in the Tampa 2, (cover 2) his flaws won't be as exposed as they would have if he always played man-to-man. He's big, physical, fast, and has a great vertical. All the things you need to be successful in the Cover 2.

April 28, 2008  05:36 PM ET

neither will be as big of a bust as you are makign it out to be.

April 28, 2008  05:38 PM ET

I'd go with Harvey.I think Talib will turn out to be a very solid player in this league

April 28, 2008  05:38 PM ET

harvey??? no way

 
April 28, 2008  06:00 PM ET

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews. asp?sport=NFL&id=4626&line=115783&spln=1

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